Unlike 2017, when Donald Trump assumed office “with less popular support than any new president in modern times,” the returning president-elect is enjoying something of a political honeymoon.
The most recent YouGov poll found Trump’s favorable/unfavorable rating tied at 49%, his strongest showing ever in YouGov polling. A November Gallup survey also found Trump’s favorable/unfavorable rating tied at 48%, two points higher than where his job approval rating started in 2017. A recent CBS survey found that 53% of voters were “excited or optimistic” about what Trump will do as president compared to 46% who said they were “concerned or scared.”
His roll-out of White House personnel has also been more efficient and deliberate than it was last time around. And while it hasn’t been without some setbacks (looking at you former Rep. Matt Gaetz), it’s nowhere near as haphazard and messy as it was in his first term. The Gaetz saga itself was short-lived, as Trump felt no need to spend his political capital on fighting to ensure that the Florida congressman got his shot to run the Justice
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The Cook Political Report is an independent, non-partisan newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the US House of Representatives, US Senate, Governors and President as well as American political trends.
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