{
  "id": 581379,
  "title": "Americans Used to Like Presidents From the Other Party. What Happened?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/11/americans-used-to-like-presidents-from-the-other-party-what-happened",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-11T16:24:32.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Newsweek",
    "slug": "newsweek",
    "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/americans-used-to-like-presidents-from-other-party-what-happened-12307504"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the era of Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, Americans generally held positive views of their presidents, regardless of the party affiliation. However, over the past seven decades, the political landscape of the United States has become increasingly polarized, leading to a significant gap in presidential approval ratings between parties.\n\nAs of mid-July, President Donald Trump's approval rating was 34 percent, the lowest since the U.S. entered the war in the Middle East, which has contributed to rising inflation. This is notably lower than former President Joe Biden's approval rating of 37 percent during the summer of 2022, when inflation was also a major concern. The average approval rating for Trump so far in his second term has been 84 percent among Republicans and 6 percent among Democrats, a 78 percentage point gap.\n\nThis current partisan divide is the widest in more than seven decades of polling, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. The gap between Republican George H.W. Bush and Democrat Bill Clinton during their respective terms was 44 percentage points and 53 percentage points, respectively, indicating that the current political climate is far more divided than it has been in recent history.\n\nPolitical experts attribute this growing political polarization to various factors, including the contested results of the 2000 election, which was said to have \"poisoned the well\" of American politics. Additionally, the economic and social changes that occurred in the U.S. population since 1988, such as increased social liberalism among the left and relative stability among the right, have contributed to the shift in political attitudes and behavior.\n\nAs a result, presidents from the opposing party are now viewed with visceral opposition, emotionally and not just politically. This intense polarization has made it increasingly difficult for leaders from different parties to garner cross-party support, a trend that has been gaining strength since the 1970s.",
  "summary": "The partisan gap in presidential approval has grown since the 1970s and is now near an all-time high—a record that belongs to Trump.",
  "key_points": [
    "Americans' positive views of presidents from the other party existed during Eisenhower era.",
    "Current partisan divide is widest in 70+ years of polling.",
    "Political polarization attributed to 2000 election and social changes."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}