Biden is more popular with his own party than Trump ever was with the GOP

Less than a month into his administration, President Joe Biden has already done something his predecessor never did: He has gained the approval of a majority of the American public. And although Donald Trump often exaggerated his own popularity with Republicans, claiming to enjoy nearly 100% support within his party, Biden’s initial approval among Democrats actually is close to universal.

A poll released by Gallup last week shows Biden with an initial 98% approval rating among Democratic voters — the highest rating for a new president among members of his party since it began measuring approval ratings in 1953. These numbers are comparable to those of George W. Bush in the days immediately following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Biden has apparently not felt the need to make a big deal out of his strong early numbers, unlike Trump, who frequently boasted of his supposedly high approval numbers within the GOP— numbers that were lower than Biden’s actual early approval levels.

“93% Approval Rating in the Republican Party. Thank you!” he claimed in March 2019.

“94% Approval Rating in the Republican Party, an all time high. Ronald Reagan was 87%. Thank you!” he incorrectly stated that July.

“95% Approval Rating of President Trump in the Republican Party,” Trump tweeted in June 2020, adding that the remaining 5% must be “RINOS,”  or Republicans in Name Only, and “stupid people.”

“96% Approval Rating in the Republican Party. Thank you!” he tweeted on May 2, 2020. And again on May 21. And on July 24. And on Aug. 12.

Trump did not cite a source for the numbers, and reputable polls never put him close to the approval within the Republican Party he claimed. They put Trump’s approval within the GOP at somewhere between 79% and 88% in August 2019, when he was claiming 94%. Even his initial rating among Republicans in January 2017 was just 90%, according to Gallup.

Beyond just appealing to Democrats, Biden also enjoys positive ratings overall. The same Gallup poll shows him with 57% approval among all Americans, compared to just 37% disapproval. Among independents, 61% like how Biden is doing his job so far — and even 11% of Republicans do too.

Trump was unpopular throughout his entire presidency, never getting approval of a majority of Americans in any Gallup tracking poll. He failed to win a majority or plurality of the popular vote in either the 2016 or the 2020 election.

Other recent polls have also shown strong approval of Biden, especially among Democrats.

Instead of bragging about his polling numbers, Biden was talking about his American Rescue Plan for economic relief, tweeting Tuesday that “1 in 7 households are struggling to purchase the food they need” and on Wednesday that “15 million Americans are struggling to pay rent.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.