President-elect Donald Trump’s favorability rating jumped six points and hit a post-election high, while outgoing President Biden’s figures sank to a four-year low, according to a new poll.
Trump, 78, notched a 54% approval rating, one of his all-time highest, compared to about 46% who disapprove of him, an Emerson College poll found. Biden, 82, scored a 36% approval to 52% disapproval rating, the lowest Emerson has recorded in four years.
His pre-election approval rating clocked in at 48%, and in at least one earlier Harvard/CAPS Harris poll this month, had hit 54%. The incoming president is also viewed more positively by men (61%) compared to women (48%).
“Trump’s strongest age cohort is among voters 40 to 59, with 60% viewing him favorably, compared to 48% among those over 70. Notably, his favorability has risen among younger voters, with 55% of those under 30 expressing a favorable opinion,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.
Some 59% of white voters see him favorably, while 53% of Hispanic and 28% of black voters say the same.
Trump’s latest approval numbers are astounding, considering that he never cracked 50% approval during his first administration — nor in his post-presidency before his historic Nov. 5 blowout win against Vice President Kamala Harris.
When asked about their reaction to the 2024 election outcome, 46% of voters were surprised, compared to 54% who were not.
“There is a sharp difference in reaction to the election results based on who voters supported: 67% of Harris voters were surprised by the results, while 71% of Trump voters were not surprised by his victory,” Kimball explained.
Meanwhile, Biden’s job favorability rating sits at an abysmal 40% favorable to 55% unfavorable,
The Emerson College poll was taken from Nov. 20 to 22 and sampled 1,000 voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
