The White House on Thursday dubiously claimed a new poll showed President Donald Trump with a 57 percent approval rating instead of the verifiable number of 49 percent.
In a post on X, the White House attempted to boast that well over half of the electorate supported the job the president was doing.
“New poll,” it read. “57.11% of Americans APPROVE of President Trump! MAGA!”
The source listed in the graphic was Rasmussen Reports.
Yet a quick visit to Rasmussen’s daily presidential tracking poll revealed that Trump didn’t even have a majority of Americans’ backing as of Thursday.
The number of likely U.S. voters who approved and disapproved of Trump’s job performance was the same: 49 percent. Additionally, only 34 percent strongly approved of his performance, while 41 percent strongly disapproved—meaning Trump’s “approval index” stood at -7. Rasmussen has had the president underwater by that metric every polling day since June 2, when it was even. Trump’s last net-positive day was March 26.
Trump, always eager to boast about flattering polls, would have to go all the way back to Jan. 23—three days after his inauguration—to get as close as possible to a 57 percent approval rating; that day, Rasmussen listed it at one point lower.
When reached for comment, the White House referred the Daily Beast to Rasmussen simply tweeting out the claim that Trump’s “single overnight approval for last night” was 57.11 percent. Included in Rasmussen’s post was Trump’s White House portrait and a congratulatory message to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino on his engagement.
Rasmussen did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast asking how it arrived at that number, why it wasn’t listed on its daily tracking poll, or the definition of an “overnight approval rating.”
The White House’s post was still up as of publication, allowing skeptics to ask Grok, the AI tool instituted by Trump pal Elon Musk, about it. It, too, noted the discrepancy.
The White House’s post came amid several troubling poll findings of late.
Earlier Thursday, a group of young voters who had supported Trump last year explained to The New York Times why they have soured on the president. When asked to describe him in a single word, they responded with “reckless,” “dictatorship,” and “overpowering.”
Another poll, released on Wednesday from Quinnipiac, showed more than half—53 percent—of voters were “pessimistic” about their First Amendment rights being protected. Voters were surveyed the day after Disney temporarily suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show on ABC following a threat by Brendan Barr, Trump’s Federal Communications Commission Chairman.
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