Poll: Public approval during Trump transition lower than ratings for former presidents
Public approval of president-elect Donald Trump’s transition is lower than the ratings his predecessors received during that period, according to a Gallup survey released Wednesday.
The poll found that people in the U.S. are evenly divided, 48 percent to 48 percent, over how Mr. Trump is handling the transition process. For previous presidential transitions, about two-thirds or more of the public approved of the process.
In 2008, three-quarters of the public approved of the way then-president-elect Obama handled his transition. About two-thirds felt the same way about George W. Bush in early 2001 and about Bill Clinton in late 1992.
The latest survey found 86 percent of Republicans approve of how Mr. Trump is handling the transition while only 17 percent of Democrats and 46 percent of independents approve.
Comparing transition approval to initial job approval ratings for former presidents, their job approval ratings were slightly lower than what the public believed during the transition period. Based on that pattern, Gallup predicts that Mr. Trump’s initial job approval rating will be in the low 40 percent range.
The Gallup poll surveyed 1,028 adults between Dec. 7 and 11 with a 4 percentage point margin of error.
