Illustration by Aaron Barksdale, Photos via Wikimedia Commons
Donald Trump’s first year as the 45th President of the United States has been a stark contrast to his predecessors. So far his presidency has largely been defined by several actions rolling back signature policies of the Obama administration, particularly when it comes to the environment, the rights of gender and sexual minorities, immigration, gender equity, undermining the Affordable Care Act and pushing an aggressive tax plan that is largely viewed as corporate welfare.
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Tracking the approval ratings for presidents is a good litmus test for how the public perceives the commander in chief and their respective party, especially heading into midterm elections in the following year. Trump hasn't had a great track record when it comes backing successful candidates for elected office, and there is increasing speculation on what the Trump effect will be on down-ballot campaigns, with many districts traditionally seen as deep red now coming into play.To put Trump’s first year into perspective, VICE Impact compared his approval ratings to the past 11 presidents, going all the way back to Harry Truman. The data was collected from pollsters FiveThirtyEight, and shows what percentage of the American public actually stand by the president’s performance in approval, disapproval, and a net approval rating.Take a look at the findings below:
Correction 12/19/17: An earlier version of this story had incorrectly calculated Barack Obama's approval ratings due to a clerical error. The graphic has since been updated to reflect the correct numbers. We regret the error.
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