President Donald Trump's approval rating of 44 percent is a record low for one newly inaugurated and almost half of Americans (48 percent) disapprove of the president's performance to date, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
"Trump begins his tenure in a dramatically less popular position than any of his predecessors," NBC News wrote Sunday. "He is the only president in the history of modern polling to begin his first term with a net negative approval rating — and it's not close.
"Compared to Trump's net negative rating of -4 percent, Barack Obama began his presidency with a net positive 34 percent; George W. Bush and Bill Clinton enjoyed a similar advantage, and George H.W. Bush's score of popular goodwill pushed even higher to a net positive of 45 percent."
The February rating comes just days before Trump is set to address a joint session of Congress. The poll revealed a high level of partisanship in American's views of Trump.
"Despite his historically underwater public popularity, the survey also shows that his support from Republicans remains robust and that the public's overall views of him are relatively stable," NBC News wrote. "He has maintained the loyalty of his party both on his policy proposals and on his ongoing warfare with the mainstream media, and a majority of Americans believe that he will follow through on his promises of change."
According to the poll, Trump's favorability among the major parties:
- 85 percent of Republicans.
- 34 percent of Independents.
- Just 9 percent of Democrats.
The poll was conducted Feb. 18-22, with a +/- 3.1 percent margin of error among 1,000 adults.
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