Fact check: False claim that President Joe Biden’s approval rating lowest in American history

The claim: President Joe Biden’s approval rating is at 11%, the lowest of any president in American history

President Joe Biden already has tangled with members of both parties over the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, immigration and infrastructure since his inauguration less than three months ago.

But his approval rating is not at an historic low, as a viral social media post suggests.

The post, originally from a Twitter account on March 29, attributes Biden’s supposed 11% approval rating to a Gallup poll, as reported by the Daily Caller.

“The LOWEST approval rating of ANY president in American history,” it claims.

That claim is false. Gallup has measured Biden’s approval rating at an average of 56% in three polls since he was sworn in Jan. 20. It’s nowhere near the lowest Gallup poll in history.

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The Twitter account where the claim was first posted does not accept direct messages. A Facebook user who shared it did not respond to a request for comment.

Presidential seal of approval

Gallup first began measuring approval ratings for presidents in 1938. It used face-to-face interviews until 1989, when it began conducting all of its polls by telephone, a practice it maintains today.

In 2008, Gallup began dialing cell phones as well as landlines, though most interviews still are done on landlines.

The earliest available data on Gallup’s online presidential approval tracker was for Truman in June of 1945, when about 87% of those polled approved of the job he was doing as president. Truman also has the distinction of charting the lowest approval rating since 1945: 22% in February 1952.

Few presidents have seen their approval ratings fall below 30% in the Gallup poll.

After soaring to a 90% approval rating after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush cratered to 25% in the waning months of his presidency in 2008. President Richard Nixon’s approval rating bottomed out at 24% just before his resignation in 1974 during the Watergate scandal.

Less than three months into his presidency, Biden’s approval rating has been steady. Gallup has polled on Biden’s approval rating three times for an average of about 56%. During its most recent poll, Biden’s approval rating was 54%.

President Joe Biden leaves after signing the American Rescue Plan, a coronavirus relief package, in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Washington. (Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP)

President Donald Trump’s approval ranged from 34% to 49% during his presidency, according to Gallup.

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Gallup noted in an analysis of its most recent approval rating poll an “extreme polarization in approval ratings” under Trump that has so far continued during Biden’s presidency.

“Biden is enjoying a modest honeymoon early in his presidency, with his approval ratings to date still above the historical average of 53% rating for presidents,” Gallup said. “His honeymoon is being driven by near-unanimous approval among his fellow Democrats and majority approval among independents, with the vast majority of Republicans disapproving from the start.”

Where did 11% come from?

The post attributes the approval rating to reporting by the Daily Caller about a Gallup poll.

On Jan. 26, the Daily Caller published a story about a separate Gallup poll that asked Americans how they felt about the direction of the country. About 11% of respondents said they are “very” or “somewhat satisfied” with the direction of the country, the lowest satisfaction rate since 2011.

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That poll is separate from Gallup’s measurement of presidential approval ratings. The “Mood of the Nation” poll was conducted from Jan. 4-15, before Biden’s inauguration but during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

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The all-time low in the satisfaction poll was 7% in 2008, according to Gallup.

“The COVID-19 pandemic gripping the nation is clearly a factor in the very low satisfaction reading – as are the tensions caused by President Donald Trump’s failure to recognize the election results and the Jan. 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol, and the fact that the January reading came at a time of transition in the transfer of power,” according to Gallup’s analysis of the poll.

Our rating: False

The claim that Gallup has measured Biden’s approval rating at 11%, purportedly the lowest of any president in American history, is FALSE. Biden’s approval rating has been an average of 56% in the three polls Gallup conducted since he was sworn in as president. The lowest approval rating Gallup has measured in American history was 22% for Truman in February of 1952.

Our fact-check sources:

  • Gallup, accessed April 13, An Overview of Gallup’s Presidential Approval Ratings
  • Gallup, accessed April 13, Presidential Job Approval Center
  • Gallup, March 18, Biden Approval Ratings Diverge by Gender, Education, Race
  • The Daily Caller, Jan. 26, Poll: 11% Of Americans Satisfied With Direction Of The Country
  • Gallup, accessed April 13, Gallup Poll Social Series: Mood of the Nation
  • Gallup, Jan. 26, U.S. Satisfaction at 11% in Early January

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