One of America’s top pollsters will no longer track the president’s approval rating, ending a decades-long practice.
Analytics company Gallup confirmed to The Hill on Wednesday that it would cease tracking approval and favorability ratings for political figures, including the President of the United States. Gallup had tracked the president’s approval rating for 88 years.
The company said in a statement to The Hill that the move “reflects an evolution in how Gallup focuses its public research and thought leadership” and a ”commitment to long-term, methodologically sound research on issues and conditions that shape people’s lives.”
Gallup will continue to publish the Gallup Quarterly Business Review, the World Poll, and other research.
The announcement comes two months after Gallup’s polling showed Trump at a 36 percent approval rating, a low point for his second term. Trump’s lowest approval in the Gallup poll overall was a 31 percent he scored in January 2021 after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Trump has baselessly insisted that he is polling well—despite no credible polls finding he has a positive approval rating—and raged at pollsters who report negative views about his administration.
In January, he announced he would sue the New York Times/Siena poll for finding that his numbers were tanking on everything from immigration to his handling of the Epstein files.
Gallup stated that Trump had no role in the organization’s decision. “This is a strategic shift solely based on Gallup’s research goals and priorities,” Gallup spokesperson Justin McCarthy told the Daily Beast.
The company did not explain why it no longer considers the president’s approval rating an “issue that shapes people’s lives.”
Trump’s 36 percent approval score in Gallup is among the lowest the pollster has given a president one year into a term. Truman, Richard Nixon, and George W. Bush scored in the 20s towards the ends of their terms.
Gallup has long been cited by media outlets covering the president’s job performance and for other topics related to American politics. For example, on Monday, the company found that American optimism had hit an all-time low under Trump.
While best known for its U.S. presidential approval ratings and election forecasting, Gallup has tracked a variety of global topics. Since its last presidential approval poll in December, the company has released polls about voters in Thailand and global economic anxiety.
It has also expanded beyond politics, surveying people on topics such as workplace engagement, AI usage, and global emotional health.
