On the heels of The Root’s recent report that Trump is running out of time thanks to continuous protests, lawsuits and dissent within his own party, a new Gallup poll confirms a “turning away” from Trump, signaling a disaster for the self-proclaimed king whose approval rating plummeted 24 points.
Suggested Reading
Gallup — a noted source of public opinion data for 90 years — found that Trump’s approval rate now stands at 36%, making it the second-lowest recorded for any modern U.S. president at a comparable point in their term. This latest data marks a 23-point decline since January. And it’s not just Gallup reporting a drop.
According to CNN, Trump’s tanking approval rate has been in lockstep with 10 other polls they’ve tracked, painting a troubling picture for the president as some Republicans continue to distance themselves from him.
Comparison to Past Presidents
Tanking this hard and this fast during a presidency is a pretty rare feat. Digging deeper, the Gallup poll evaluated Trump against other second-term presidents by comparing the approval ratings of their first terms to those of their second terms. At this point in his presidency, Trump’s performance was sandwiched between George W. Bush’s 19-point drop and Mr. Watergate himself, Richard “Tricky Dick” Nixon’s 36-point drop in 1973, the steepest drop recorded for a modern president.
The New York Times used the data to create several charts comparing Trump’s net approval rating to those of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and himself. “Trump started his current term with a net approval rating lower than any other presidents’ going back to Bill Clinton,” the outlet reported. He did beat himself slightly with his 317th day in office ranking about 4 points higher than it was at this time during his first term.
The Issues Measured
The poll also measured public approval of Trump’s handling of the presidency, reporting “a significant erosion in approval” in areas of immigration (-9 points), the Israel-Hamas war (-7 points), the economy (-6 points), the federal budget (-12 points) and the Russia-Ukraine war (-10 points).
Drop in Republican Support
According to Gallup, Republicans are still more positive than Democrats when it comes to rating Trump. Still, there has been a sharp decline, from 54% in September (prior to the government shutdown) to 23%, narrowing the gap between the parties, with Democrats sitting around 3%.
And at this point, even Trump’s most loyal followers might have to admit what’s been obvious to others for a while: this emperor has no pants.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.