trump obama
© Alex Wong/GettyPresident Donald Trump raises a fist after his inauguration as former President Barack Obama applauds on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2017, in Washington, D.C.
President Donald Trump's job approval rating this week averaged across major polls surpassed that of his predecessor President Barack Obama at the same time eight years ago, giving some actual good news to Trump who is known to cite only conservative-leaning polls to bolster his image.

Trump's approval rating on Wednesday was 44.3 percent, according to a Real Clear Politics average of more than a half-dozen major polls. That is higher than Obama's average approval rating of 43.9 percent on September 18, 2011, by the same measure.

The 45th president's average approval rating surpassed that of his predecessor on Monday and stayed on top for the next two days. Trump's average approval rating on Monday was 44.1 percent compared to Obama's 43.9 percent on September 16, 2011, and 44 percent on Tuesday compared to Obama's 43.8 percent on September 17, 2011.

Here is a seven-day look at average approval ratings for Trump in 2019 and Obama in 2011:
  • September 18: Trump 44.3 percent vs. Obama 43.9 percent
  • September 17: Trump 44 percent vs. Obama 43.8 percent
  • September 16: Trump 44.1 percent vs. Obama 43.9 percent
  • September 15: Trump 43.9 percent vs. Obama 44 percent
  • September 14: Trump 43.8 percent vs. Obama 44 percent
  • September 13: Trump 43.3 percent vs. Obama 43.9 percent
  • September 12: Trump 43.4 percent vs. Obama 43.7 percent
  • September 11: Trump 43.1 percent vs. Obama 43.3 percent
Trump has not tweeted this week about achieving a higher average approval than Obama, whom he has continued to criticize. But on Monday, the day he came out ahead of Obama, Trump tweeted an image of himself with "50% APPROVAL RATING" attributed to the conservative Rasmussen Reports, which consistently rates him higher than other major polls.

"Thank you, working hard!" Trump tweeted, along with the hashtag #KAG2020 which stands for his reelection campaign slogan, "Keep America Great."


It is not clear whether Trump is aware he has had a Real Clear Politics higher average approval rating than Obama for the past three days.

Conservative content websites on Tuesday reported on Trump's better ratings based on Rasmussen Reports, which indicated a wider gap between the presidents' numbers. Conservative Fighters cited Trump's 50 percent approval rating by Rasmussen Reports on Monday and noted that Obama on September 16, 2011, was four points lower at 46 percent, according to the poll.

trump approval ratings
A guest author for The Political Insider on Tuesday wrote that "the highly respected Rasmussen poll revealed that the president is actually at his highest point in two years" and that "perhaps even more significant," Trump had topped Obama.

"Obviously, Obama won his second term," the author continued, "Despite polling lower than where Trump is today according to Rasmussen."

Real Clear Politics averages the following polls: Economist/YouGov, Rasmussen Reports, Politico/Morning Consult, The Hill/HarrisX, Reuters/Ipsos, CNN, NPR/PBS/Marist, ABC News/Washington Post.