Donald Trump bad post presidency numbers won’t help him get his old job back……
John F. Kennedy remains the most highly rated former president when Gallup asks Americans whether, in retrospect, they approve or disapprove of the job each did as president. Ninety percent of U.S. adults now approve of the job Kennedy did, 21 percentage points higher than second-place Ronald Reagan’s rating.
Seven of the nine past presidents included in the poll receive majority retrospective approval ratings. The two exceptions are Donald Trump, with 46% of Americans approving of the job he did in his initial retrospective approval rating, and Richard Nixon, at 32%.
Bottom Line
Americans tend to be more charitable in rating presidents after they leave office than while they served as commander in chief. Those evaluations tend to grow increasingly positive the longer former presidents are out of office. Kennedy stands head and shoulders above other former presidents, but majorities approve of how most former presidents handled their job, except for Trump and Nixon.
Trump’s retrospective rating takes on special significance as he campaigns for a second, non-consecutive term as president. His 91% retrospective approval rating among Republicans underscores the challenge of his competitors for the nomination in trying to convince the GOP base why they, rather than Trump, should be the party’s candidate for president.
However, to return to the White House, Trump must convince Americans more broadly that he did a good job as president so they view him as a better alternative than his would-be opponent, the incumbent Joe Biden. At this point, a 54% majority of Americans, including 59% of independents, say they disapprove of the job Trump did, underscoring the challenge for Trump and the GOP in winning the 2024 general election…
image…Time….