Trump's disapproval rating surges above 50 percent, setting new record
President Donald Trump became the first president in modern history to have more than half of Americans disapprove of his job performance after only eight days in office, according to a new poll.
The Gallup survey has tracked the approval rating of all presidents dating back to the administration of Harry Truman.
As of Saturday, Trump's approval rating was at 42 percent, while 51 percent of respondents said they disapproved of his performance as president so far.
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Trump's rating hovered around an equal 45 percent approval to disapproval in the first few days and began to split on Thursday, the day after he signed an executive order moving forward with his proposed border wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. The announcement led to Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto canceling a meeting with Trump scheduled for this coming week.
SEE EVERYTHING TRUMP HAS ACCOMPLISHED IN HIS FIRST DAYS IN OFFICE
Prior to Trump, President Bill Clinton was the first to see his job disapproval hit at least 50 percent, a dubious achievement that came a 152 days into his first term in office. The number peaked at 54 percent disapproval nearly two years into his first term, and then stayed below 50 percent for the remainder of his presidency.
President George W. Bush, by contrast, enjoyed relatively high approval and low disapproval ratings for his first term, with a huge spike in popularity coming shortly after the 9/11 attacks. But his approval started to drop shortly after his second term began and disapproval remained at 50 percent or higher for most of the rest of his time in office, peaking at 71 percent disapproval one month before Barack Obama was elected president.
