Donald Trump is enjoying unprecedented success with American voters, achieving a positive popularity rating for the first time in a major opinion poll average.
Trump’s favorable rating in the RealClearPolitics average stood at 49.4 percent on Friday — with an unfavorable rating of 47.4 percent, about two points lower.
In data going back to 2015, Trump never saw a positive rating in the polling average.
The milestone comes after Trump was named Time Magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’ and celebrated the event on Thursday with his wife Melania and daughters Ivanka and Tiffany, when he rang the bell at the opening of the New York Stock Exchange.
Trump joked about the reversal and trumped his haters with a meme on his Truth Social account.
He posted a photo of his mug shot next to the cover of his Time Magazine “Person of the Year” with the meme: “How it started” compared to “how it goes.”
His popularity rose over the course of his trials, including his hush money trial in Manhattan, where he was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying financial records.
Trump had spent his entire political career “underwater” in the ratings, meaning his “unfavorable” rating was higher than his “favorable” rating.
But his stunning rise to political power – and the astonishing collapse and capitulation of some of his opponents – has now put him at the top.
Turnaround: Trump joked about his arrest and mugshot and being named Time’s “Person of the Year.” His popularity improved over the course of his trials
Donald Trump has earned a positive rating in the RealClearPolitics average for the first time after a string of victories
Trump won an impressive 312-226 victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the Electoral College, after defeating her in all seven battleground states.
That came after securing a victory in the popular vote – which gave Harris just shy of 50 percent to 48.4 percent.
While he may not have had the overwhelming “mandate” that Trump publicly claimed, it still made him the first Republican to win the popular vote since 2004. Trump prevailed in the Electoral College in 2016, losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton.
The period since his victory has put Trump in the power position of announcing Cabinet picks, speaking to world leaders and firing off policy pronouncements from his Truth Social account.
He’s made gains across the board — including on the financial front, where his stake in Truth Social is about $4 billion, despite some critics calling the company a “meme stock.”
There have been abundant signs that powerful figures have identified Trump’s descendants. In the period since the election, Special Prosecutor Jack Smith has moved to drop the criminal cases against him.
Federal judges joined in, and Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed his Jan. 6 case.
Trump has received a hero’s welcome at events at his Mar-a-Lago club, even attending events such as a UFC match at Madison Square Garden and the reopening of Notre Dame in Paris.
Trump even posted an image of first lady Jill Biden grinning as the two conversed in the cathedral.
He had a fireside meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House, and Biden promised an orderly transition.
He was warmly embraced by Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Even many of his most controversial cabinet choices have been well received by members of his party, although his initial choice of Matt Gaetz as attorney general imploded over sex trafficking allegations that Gaetz denies.
Trump’s “favorable” rating averaged 49.4 percent
Trump was named Time Magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’ and sounded the alarm at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday
Signs of opposition to his pick for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are disappearing, with Republican Joni Ernst of Iowa saying she will support him “through this process.”
Trump’s favorability rating at Gallup bottomed out immediately after January 6, 2021, when it stood at just 34 percent.
While he was in office, it never rose above 49 percent.
As recently as June 25, the RealClear average of polls had Trump’s unfavorable rating at 54.9, compared to a favorable rating of 42.1, leaving him “underwater.”