Donald Trump has the worst approval rating in presidential history.
Posted by The MeidasTouch Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 3 contradict2 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 80%
The MeidasTouch PodcastOct 27, 2026
The claim that Trump has the worst approval rating in presidential history is contradicted by the sources: Harry Truman's 22% Gallup rating (1952) is the lowest ever recorded, and Nixon's 24% final rating is lower than Trump's roughly 34-36% readings.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… It is. It is true. It is sick that you're saying that. It's a small People are genuinely struggling right now, while you've made billions of dollars, while your oligarch friends have made billions of dollars. You've destroyed so many people's lives. That's why, in the latest polling, he has the worst approval in presidential history not modern presidential history, ever. There's nobody who has worse approval than him, than he does right now. Let me show you what his top economic advisor was saying this morning. This is Kevin Hassett on Fox, insisting that the economy is actually incredible. …
The MeidasTouch Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. A USA Today-compiled comparison in the Citizen-Times reports that Harry Truman's 22% rating, from a February 1952 Gallup survey, is the lowest ever recorded, and it states directly that Trump does not have the lowest approval rating.[2][3]
Contradicts. Business Insider's October 2026 piece ranks presidents by final Gallup approval and identifies Nixon's 24% as the lowest, which is still below Trump's latest readings.[4]
Supports. AP's polling tracker shows Trump at 35% approval in October 2026, and Pew puts him at 34% in mid-July 2026. These are low by historical standards but well above Truman's 22%.[1][5]
Context. Trump's approval is lower than his first-term comparables and most recent presidents at similar points, and a 2017 CNN analysis found his third-quarter 2017 Gallup number was the lowest for that quarter in seven decades. The claim's superlative extends this to all of presidential history, which the sources do not support.[5][6]
Sources
6 sources: 1 fact-checker, 4 not rated, 1 tier 2
- 1Latest AP Polls | AP-NORC Polling | AP Newsapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Does Trump have the lowest approval rating of presidents ...citizen-times.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 3United States presidential approval rating - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 4Trump's approval ratings hit a new low. See how it compares to former presidents' when they left office.businessinsider.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 5Trump's job approval rating is low by historical standardspewresearch.org · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 631 times presidential approval was lower than Trump’s (and 256 times it wasn’t) | CNN Politicscnn.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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