WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s job approval rating has quietly surpassed those of former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush at the equivalent point in their presidencies, according to the latest RealClearPolling average released Thursday.
At roughly 60 weeks into his second term, Trump sits at 42.9% approval, narrowly topping Obama’s 42.7% and comfortably ahead of Bush’s 38% at the same stage of their tenures. The milestone comes despite persistent media criticism and a still-underwater net rating of 42.7% approve to 54.8% disapprove.
The data reflects a steady but polarized public view of the 47th president. While Trump’s support has held firm through a series of high-stakes decisions—including recent U.S. military strikes on Iranian targets that drew mixed domestic reactions—the overall numbers remain deeply split along partisan lines.
On X, Trump’s supporters wasted no time celebrating the comparative victory. Conservative commentator Eric Daugherty captured the mood with a widely shared post: “KEEP PUSHING, 47!” The message quickly racked up thousands of likes and reposts as fans framed the polling edge as validation of Trump’s unorthodox second-term agenda.
“Finally, some good news the legacy media can’t spin,” one top reply read. Others posted side-by-side charts comparing the three presidents’ approval curves, with Trump’s line trending slightly above both predecessors at the 60-week mark.
Critics, however, were quick to downplay the achievement. Democratic strategists and left-leaning analysts pointed out that 42.9% remains historically low for this stage of a presidency and reflects an electorate still sharply divided. “Beating Bush’s dismal second-term numbers is hardly a victory lap,” one MSNBC contributor tweeted. “These are still underwater ratings in a country that gave him a second chance.”
RealClearPolling’s aggregate draws from more than a dozen national surveys conducted over the past week, including Rasmussen, YouGov, and Emerson College. The average has shown remarkable stability in recent months, fluctuating only within a narrow 1–2 point band, even after major foreign-policy moves such as the Iran strikes.
White House officials declined to comment directly on the numbers but pointed to strong economic indicators and border-security metrics as the true measures of the administration’s success. “The American people are feeling the results in their daily lives,” a senior adviser said. “Polls at this point in any presidency are snapshots, not the final verdict.”
Trump himself has long dismissed traditional approval polling as “fake news,” preferring to highlight rally crowds, stock-market performance, and internal polling he claims show far higher support. Still, the new comparative data is being seized upon by allies as proof that his disruptive style continues to resonate more than critics admit.
With midterm elections still more than a year away and major legislative battles looming over spending, immigration reform, and trade policy, both parties are watching these numbers closely. For now, Trump’s approval sits just above the historical benchmarks set by two very different predecessors, offering his team a modest morale boost heading into the spring.
Where does mindless Biden fit into this picture?