Donald Trump is set to return to the White House in less than two months, and several recent polls show how his favorability has changed since his victory in 2016.
On November 5, Trump carried every battleground state to secure his defeat of Vice President Kamala Harris, both in the Electoral College and in the popular vote. But Americans have been deeply divided about the president-elect since he first announced his entry into politics and entered the GOP presidential primary races in 2015.
The latest polls offer mixed signals about whether Trump is entering the Oval Office more popular than he was in 2016, when his victory was viewed by many as more surprising than this year's. Polling before November's election showed a very tight race.
Polls from YouGov and Gallup indicate that Trump is more popular with voters now than he was eight years ago.
The latest YouGov poll shows Trump with a net favorability rating of +1. Forty-eight percent of respondents said they viewed him favorably, while 47 percent said they viewed him unfavorably. The poll surveyed 1,590 adults from November 23 to 26.
That's a notable improvement from a 2016 postelection poll from YouGov, which found Trump 12 points underwater with voters. Forty-one percent said they viewed him favorably at the time, compared with 53 percent who viewed him unfavorably. That poll surveyed 1,659 adults from November 12 to November 15, 2016.
Gallup has produced similar findings this year.
A Gallup survey conducted from November 6 to 20 showed that voters are evenly split on Trump—48 percent said they view him favorably while 48 percent said they viewed him unfavorably. The poll surveyed 1,001 U.S. adults.
A Gallup poll conducted between November 9 and 13, 2016, showed that Americans viewed Trump more negatively. Fifty-five percent viewed him unfavorably, while only 42 percent viewed him favorably at the time. The poll surveyed 1,019 adults.
An Ipsos poll, however, found that Trump is less popular now than he was in 2016.
The survey found that only 44 percent of Americans view him favorably, compared with 51 percent who view him unfavorably, giving him a net favorability of -7. The poll surveyed 1,031 adults from November 15 to 17.
An Ipsos poll from 2016 showed Trump with a +4 favorability rating, with 52 percent saying they viewed him favorably and 48 percent viewing him unfavorably. That poll surveyed 2,065 Americans from December 16 to December 20, 2016.
In a statement, Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Newsweek, "Pollsters, DC pundits and the media always underestimated President Trump and his historic coalition of supporters. The only poll that matters happens on Election Day, and Americans overwhelmingly voted Make America Great Again."
Polls generally show Trump's favorability has increased since this month's election. Presidents typically begin their administrations with a high approval rating that often drops and bounces back at several points in their term. Both Trump and President Joe Biden saw their favorability and approval ratings waver throughout their four years in the White House.
FiveThirtyEight's polling aggregate showed Trump with a -5.1 favorability rating on Wednesday, his strongest showing since 2019.
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