Trump's Pre-Midterm Approval Rating Compared to Biden, Obama and Bush
The President's position is worse than his predecessors before the November elections, according to two major pollsters.
President Donald Trump's approval rating ahead of the upcoming midterm elections is reportedly lower than that of other modern American presidents, according to polling data from Pew Research Center and Quinnipiac University. Historically, when a president has a poor national approval rating, their party tends to lose seats in the midterms.
Trump's declining approval rating has driven Democratic hopes that they could retake a majority of seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The latest Quinnipiac poll conducted among 963 registered voters from July 23-27, 2026, showed 32 percent of respondents approving of Trump, while 58 percent disapproved. This is a modern historical low for this point in a presidency for their polling.
In August 2022, the pollster found that former President Joe Biden’s approval rating stood at 40 percent, while 52 percent disapproved. Former President Barack Obama’s approval was better in both of his terms, with 40 percent approving and 53 percent disapproving in June 2014, and 44 percent approving and 48 percent disapproving in July 2010.
President Bush’s approval rating initially remained high due to his leadership following the September 11 terror attacks in 2001, though his favorability had waned by 2006 amid growing frustration over the Iraq War. In August 2006, 39 percent of respondents said they approved of Bush, compared to 53 percent who disapproved of him.
In November 2002, a year after the attacks, 62 percent of respondents said they approved of Bush, compared to 30 percent who disapproved.
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