The eight-percentage-point post-election increase in Trump’s favorability rating was slightly larger than the boosts experienced by Barack Obama in 2008 (+6), George W. Bush in 2000 (+4) and Bill Clinton in 1992 (+7). But Trump also had a much lower rating to start with, meaning that even with the bump in favorable views, he remains significantly less popular at this point than his predecessors. Obama, Bush and Clinton all had favorable ratings ranging from 58% to 68% after their initial election.
The three previous presidents also enjoyed additional boosts in their favorability between their elections and polls taken just before their inaugurations. Bush experienced the smallest bump of three points, while Obama enjoyed the largest bump of 10 points. Clinton saw his favorability climb eight points between his election and his inauguration.
The lack of change in Trump’s favorable rating halfway through his transition period suggests that his favorable image may have stalled, making it likely that he will arrive on Inauguration Day with a significantly less positive image than Obama and Clinton, and perhaps Bush as well. Additionally, his 48% approval rating for his handling of the transition lags far behind those of previous presidents at a similar point in the process.
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