The favorability of former President Donald Trump’s presidency is 10 percentage points greater than that of President Joe Biden’s presidency, a new poll found.
The USA Today poll is just the latest of several showing Trump’s chances improving significantly following Biden’s shaky debate performance. One of the more surprising metrics was the public’s memory about Trump’s presidency, which has seen a turnaround for the better in recent months. For the first time since leaving office, a majority of respondents said they approved of Trump’s job as president.
In contrast, just 41% of respondents said they approve of Biden’s performance as president.
Trump’s favorability numbers are a marked turnaround from his performance ratings when he left office in January 2021. FiveThirtyEight gave him an average approval rating of 38.6% when he left office.
Three-and-a-half years later, bitterness toward Biden’s performance as president and chaotic events around the world have resulted in a surge in nostalgia for the Trump years.
“He’s the real deal. Under him, let’s see, the economy was doing great. My life was a lot easier financially than it is now, and overall, I think he was well respected,” Carol Crossland, 56, a Trump supporter from San Antonio, told the news outlet.
The finding of the poll reflects the changing perception of Trump’s presidency — a May poll found that the most chaotic parts of Donald Trump’s administration have been largely forgotten.
Despite the global and domestic upheaval brought on by the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol and the COVID-19 pandemic, voters said they were some of the least memorable aspects of Trump’s time in office. A majority of voters associated his behavior, the economy, and immigration with his presidency, while less than 10% primarily associated it with the pandemic and the Jan. 6 riot.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Trump narrowly led Biden in the poll, 41% to 38%.
The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters between June 28 and June 30, and it had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 points.