Donald Trump's first 100 days in office: Lowest approval ratings for any US president in 70 years, CNN poll finds

Donald Trump's first 100 days: As Donald Trump is all set to complete 100 days of his second US presidency, Americans view his performance as deeply negative so far, giving him the lowest approval rating for any US President in 70 years, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

Donald Trump's approval rating of 41 per cent is the lowest for any newly elected president at 100 days in office, dating back at least to Dwight Eisenhower – including Trump’s own first term, the CNN poll said. Eisenhower was the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961.

Trump took office for his second term as the US President on January 20. He will complete his 100 days on April 29.

The approval ratings of Donald Trump’s handling of the presidency are down 4 points since March and 7 points lower than in late February, the CNN Poll said. 

Only 22 per cent of respondents said they strongly approved of his handling of the job. About 45 per cent of respondents said they strongly disapproved of his job handling.

In the ‘chaotic’ first 100 days since he returned to office on January 20, the Republican President has unleashed an unprecedented global tariff war and slashed US foreign aid, besides embracing Russia's narrative about its invasion of Ukraine.

Trump also spoke about annexing Greenland, retaking the Panama Canal and making Canada the 51st state of the United States of America.

Trump waged an unpredictable campaign that has upended parts of the rules-based world order that Washington helped build from the ashes of World War II, according to a Reuters report.

Drop in approval from women

Since March, Trump's approval ratings among women and Hispanic Americans have declined by 7 per cent. In March, his approval ratings were 36 per cent among women and 28 per cent among Hispanics, according to the CNN poll.

On his partisan views, 86 per cent of Republicans approve, while 93 per cent of Democrats disapprove of him.

Among political independents, President Trump's approval ratings have dipped to 31 per cent, matching his first-term low point with that group and about the same as his standing with them in January 2021.

On Economic Issues, Inflation Down

On economic issues, President Trump’s approval ratings have dropped since early March, coinciding with the rollout of his controversial tariff plan, which led to volatility in the stock market and worries about rising prices.

On inflation, President Trump's approval is down 9 points to 35 per cent, and on tariffs, it has come down by 4 points to 35 per cent, according to CNN poll. President Trump's marks for handling the economy are down 5 points to a career low of 39 per cent.

Only about half of the respondents expressed confidence in his ability to manage the economy, down 13 points from a December CNN poll.

The poll found that President Trump’s moves on foreign affairs, which included a friendly posture toward Russia in its war with Ukraine and the ending of many foreign aid programmes, were approved by 39 per cent and disapproved by 60 per cent of respondents.

Half of the respondents say they have a lot or some confidence in his ability to handle foreign affairs, down from 55 per cent before he took office in January, the poll found.

Recently, President Trump said Russia and Ukraine were ‘very close’ to an accord after his special envoy met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

I am doing what I've campaigned on: Trump

Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on January 20, marking his historic return to the White House.

“I think that what I'm doing is exactly what I've campaigned on. If you look at what I campaigned on, for instance, you can talk about removing people from the country. We have to do it because Biden allowed people to come in through his open border crazy, insanity,” he told Time Magazine in his 100-day in office interview recently,

Trump’s return to the presidency after defeating Democrat Kamala Harris in the US Presidential elections marked a significant chapter in American history. His inauguration set the stage for a new term focused on his vision for ‘renewed greatness’ and ‘America First’ policies.

The Reuters report said Trump's ‘America First’ agenda in his second term has alienated friends and emboldened adversaries while raising questions about how far he is prepared to go. It added that his actions, coupled with that uncertainty, have so unnerved some governments that they are responding in ways that could be difficult to undo, even if a more traditional US president is elected in 2028.

Much more radical now

“Trump is much more radical now than he was eight years ago,” Elliott Abrams, a conservative who served under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W Bush before being appointed US special envoy on Iran and Venezuela in Trump's first term, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Even on immigration, on which President Trump had outperformed his first-term high by 7 points earlier this year, the new poll finds declining approval ratings and diminished confidence in his actions. Overall, 45 per cent of respondents approve of him, down by 6 points from March, and 53 per cent express confidence in his ability to deal with it, again a decline from 60 per cent in December last year.

The only issue that has earned President Trump positive ratings in the new poll is his handling of issues related to gender identity and trans people. As many as 51 per cent approve of his handling of that matter, including 90 per cent of Republicans, 48 per cent of independents and 16 per cent of Democrats, the CNN poll said.

(With CNN and Reuters Inputs)