What did Donald Trump do today?
He lied about his popularity again.
On Twitter this morning, Trump said, "Rasmussen and others have my approval ratings at around 50%, which is higher than Obama, and yet the political pundits love saying my approval ratings are 'somewhat low.'"
There are three testable claims here.
Are Trump's approval ratings "around 50%"?
No, they are not. The most recent numbers are:Are Trump's approval ratings higher than President Obama's?
No, they are not. In fact, Trump's average approval rating of 40.7%, 414 days into his administration, is lower than every single other president's since routine polling began in the Truman adminstration.
- President Obama: 49.1% (8.4% higher than Trump)
- President George H.W. Bush: 77.7% (37% higher than Trump)
- President Clinton: 52.0% (11.3% higher than Trump)
- President George W. Bush: 71.9% (31.2% higher than Trump)
- President Reagan: 46.9% (5.2% higher than Trump)
- President Carter: 49.6% (8.9% higher than Trump)
- President Ford: 43.6% (2.9% higher than Trump)
- President Nixon: 56.1% (15.4% higher than Trump)
- President Johnson: 69.0% (28.3% higher than Trump)
- President Kennedy: 78.1% (37.4% higher than Trump)
- President Eisenhower: 66.9% (26.2% higher than Trump)
- President Truman: 50.0% (9.3% higher than Trump)
Are political pundits saying that his approval ratings are "somewhat low?"
Possibly--Trump didn't say who, if anyone, he was quoting. But if they are, they're being very kind.
Trump also added that when the media reports on his polls, "they know they are lying." It's not clear if Trump knows that he is.
Why should I care about this?
- It's wrong to lie.
- After about the sixth grade, declaring yourself popular doesn't really make you popular.
- Presidents who have the support of the American public don't generally need to call attention to the fact.