Trump Approval Rating Today: Shocking Contrast In New Polls, Error Or Rigged?


Trump’s approval rating today reached a new all-time low for any incoming president in the recent history. After nearly a month in office, the dwindling numbers indicate that people are losing their faith in the president. However, that may not be totally true, according to another poll that shows a completely different picture.

It is evident from the recent polls that the public impression of President Donald Trump is highly polarized. Some polls suggest far more negative ratings compared to other polls that show better approval ratings.

It is worth noting that a wide contrast in the polls is evidently similar to the pre-election polls. Most of the polls at the time had suggested a Clinton victory, but the actual results turned out differently.

Two new presidential polls were released recently, one by Rasmussen Reports and the other by the Pew Research Center. Both polls show wildly different approval ratings for Trump.

[Image by Carolyn Kaster/AP Images]

Trump’s approval rating according to Pew Research Center is only 39 percent. The poll suggests that 56 percent of people disapprove of President Trump. The polls were conducted between February 7 and February 12 and included 1,503 adult participants.

The high disproval rating has already surpassed the disapproval rating for Barack Obama throughout his eight years of presidency. George Bush had better disapproval ratings near the end of his presidency.

The support from opposing parties is always low, but only 8 percent Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents approve of his job, which again is the lowest in past three decades.

When it comes to Trump’s travel ban, only 38 percent support it while 59 percent disapprove of the ban. Surprisingly, in the same polls, 54 percent people believed in Trump’s ability to get things done, whereas 60 percent thought Trump had kept his promises.

The second polls that were released by Rasmussen Reports depict an entirely different picture. Rasmussen’s daily Presidential Tracking Poll showed Trump’s approval rating today was 55 percent, whereas 45 percent people disapproved his performance.

Trump has time and again attacked the “fake news,” and it looks like people feel that way too. Nearly 45 percent believe that reporters are biased against Trump, and only 12 percent believe that reporters are biased for Trump.

There has been series of leaks from the intelligence agencies that President Trump has called very un-American. It seems people believe that too, as polls show 47 percent believe the intelligence agencies have their own agenda.

Rasmussen interviews 500 people every night and releases the results on a three-day rolling average basis. The margin of error is 2.5 percent.

The shocking contrast in Trump’s approval rating in the two new polls raises a question about the authenticity of different polls. It is understandable that since surveys speak only to sample of the population, there is bound to be a sampling error. However, a 16 percent difference is way beyond the margin of error.

Last month, Trump had called the approval rating polls “rigged,” and he added these were similar to the phony election polls. In his press conference on Thursday, February 16, he reiterated earlier statements about the polls being rigged, as reported by Reuters.

Trump cited the Rasmussen poll during the press conference to talk about his 55 percent approval rating. It is worth noting that this poll is at odds with other polls that show a lower rating.

While it may be unfair to deny any polls outright, the vast contrast cannot be ignored. Among other polls, a Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted between February 10 and February 15, showed Trump’s approval rating today at 46 percent, whereas a Gallup poll puts the rating at 41 percent.

Why is there such a contrast between these polls? Well, the methodology followed by most of the polls includes traditional telephone interviews along with other online survey tools. The participants as claimed are selected at random from a demographically diverse panel.

One possibility could be the nonresponse bias, where a particular section of the population is unwilling to respond to the polls resulting in such a contrast. However, in spite of all the automated techniques, it is still possible to skew the poll results by oversampling or by applying weighting techniques incorrectly.

It is impossible to find out the exact reason for such a vast discrepancy between the polls. Could it be due to a genuine error, or, as President Trump suggests, are the polls rigged? As the recent history suggests, only time will reveal the truth.

Let us know your views in the comments section below.

[Featured Image by Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Images]

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