Trump approval bounces back from post-government shutdown lows

Joe Raedle | Getty Images

President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the El Paso County Coliseum on February 11, 2019 in El Paso, Texas.

President Donald Trump’s approval rating has mounted a decisive comeback from its descent last month during the record-length partial government shutdown, which lasted 35 days and ended Jan. 25.

Trump’s approval hit a low of under 40 percent on the final day of the shutdown, an erasure of almost three percentage points from its pre-shutdown level, according to an average calculated by the website FiveThirtyEight.

In the nearly three weeks since, voters have warmed back up to the president. His approval rating hit 41.5 percent on Wednesday, climbing back to a level the polling average had not yet notched in 2019.

The president’s approval rating has not returned to its level on the day the government entered the partial government shutdown, which was 42.2 percent.

In the weeks since the government re-opened, Trump delivered his second State of the Union address as well as what is considered his first campaign speech of the 2020 cycle.

Congress, which faces a midnight Friday deadline to pass a spending bill that will keep the government running, appeared likely to pass a measure Thursday.

To be sure, the president still has a low approval rating compared to modern presidents, and measures of disapproval remain unusually high.

The president’s approval lags that of every U.S. president who served in the last 50 years at this point in their presidency, with two exceptions.

Ronald Reagan, whose flagging approval rating in his first two years mirrored rising unemployment levels, had less support. Jimmy Carter, who also wrestled with high unemployment, had the same amount of support at this point in his presidency as Trump does.

Trump, by contrast, has presided during a period of strong economic growth and low unemployment.

Experts have said that an approval rating of 40 percent or higher puts the president in a favorable position for his re-election bid.