Poll: Many feel more optimistic about Trump's presidency after his first Congressional address

Donald Trump's presidency may have gotten off to a rocky start with historically low approval ratings, but many have a more favorable view of the new commander-in-chief's presidency after his address to Congress last week.

A new AOL News poll finds the most popular response to the speech was optimism.

Of those polled, 45 percent said they are more optimistic about Trump's presidency after the speech. Meanwhile, only 26 percent of respondents who said they are more pessimistic. Another 27 percent said their outlook remained unchanged after the speech. Three percent said they weren't sure of their reaction to the speech.

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Prior to Trump's Feb. 27 speech, his approval ratings fell to 39 percent on Feb. 16 -- a historically poor rating for a president during his first month. According to a Pew Research Center poll 56 percent of Americans disapproved of Trump's job performance after his first month on the job.

A new Gallup survey found a four percent increase in the number of voters who approve of Trump's performance the week before his speech to the week after -- jumping from 39 percent approval to 43 percent.

Even outspoken critics of Trump heralded the address as a pivotal moment in his presidency. Liberal CNN commentator Van Jones said Trump "became president" when he honored Carryn Owens, the widow of fallen Navy SEAL William "Ryan" Owens.

"He became president of the United States in that moment, period," Jones said CNN after the address. "That was one of the most extraordinary moments you have ever seen in American politics. Period."

** Polls conducted by AOL.com do not use scientific sampling. Surveys sample thousands of users and consistently reflect results to polls administered by other outlets.