Presidents typically enjoy a surge in popularity during their second term, with Bill Clinton being a notable exception. However, Donald Trump’s case is particularly striking; he began his second term as the least favored president of the 21st century. In fact, Trump has the dubious distinction of never having achieved a job approval rating above 50%.
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When an unpopular president dedicates their initial term to policies that alienate even more voters while neglecting the issues that brought them to power, it often leads to political turmoil. As Trump approaches his first State of the Union in his second term, his unpopularity has reached unprecedented levels this century.
For a deeper look at the cultural shift against Trump, here’s a video featuring Sarah Jones discussing the current political landscape:
To put this into perspective, George W. Bush had a net approval rating of (-11) preceding his first second-term State of the Union, while Barack Obama’s was even lower at (-15). Trump, however, finds himself nearly twice as unpopular as Obama, with a net approval rating of (-27).
Factors such as tariffs, inflation, and immigration policy are contributing to this plummet in approval. Despite these challenges, Trump shows no inclination to revise his strategies in hopes of regaining favor with the electorate ahead of the midterm elections. Notably, there is a specific demographic—one that constitutes the largest voter bloc in America—that has increasingly turned against him.
We’ll delve into that group shortly.
