In the wake of the violence and riots at the Capitol on Jan. 6, a growing majority of voters (76%) say Donald Trump’s conduct since the Nov. 3 election is “only fair” or “poor.” In mid-November, 68% rated Trump’s post-election conduct negatively.
Currently, 62% rate Trump’s conduct since the election as poor, up from 54% two months ago. Most of this change has been driven by his own voters, who were generally inclined to give him positive ratings immediately following the election, but are now about evenly divided; 51% of Trump voters say his conduct has been excellent or good, while 49% say it has been only fair or poor.
The share of Trump voters who rate the president’s post-election conduct as poor has doubled – from 10% to 20% – since November.
Among Trump voters, views of his conduct since the election reveals splits within the Republican coalition – particularly along educational and ideological lines.
Trump voters with a four-year college degree or more education generally hold a negative view of Trump’s post-election conduct; 60% rate it only fair or poor. Just after the election, fewer than half (40%) expressed a negative view of his conduct.
Those with some college experience are evenly divided, while a majority of Trump voters with no more than a high school diploma rate Trump’s post-election conduct positively (61% excellent or good).
Trump voters who call themselves “very conservative” – who constitute 18% of all Trump supporters – offer far more positive evaluations of Trump’s post-election behavior compared with those who describe their views as conservative (52% of Trump voters) or moderate or liberal (29% of Trump voters).
Views of Biden’s post-election conduct remain positive
A majority of voters (64%) continue to view Joe Biden’s conduct since the election as excellent (37%) or good (27%). There has been little change in these opinions since November (62% excellent or good).
While Biden voters continue to express overwhelmingly positive views of the president-elect’s conduct, Trump voters view Biden’s conduct less negatively than they did shortly after the election. Currently, 34% of Trump voters rate Biden’s post-election conduct as poor, compared with 42% in November.
As Trump’s term ends, about two-thirds disapprove of his job performance
About two-thirds of U.S. adults (68%) say they disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president, including a majority (56%) who say they strongly disapprove. About three-in-ten (29%) approve of Trump’s job performance, with 21% saying they strongly approve.
Trump’s current job approval is the lowest of his presidency and 9 percentage points lower than in August (38%).
Trump’s job rating has declined across most major demographic groups since the summer. For example, fewer than four-in-ten white adults (38%) now approve of Trump’s job performance, while 59% disapprove. White adults were divided on Trump’s performance in August (47% approved, 50% disapproved).
Trump’s job approval among Hispanic adults declined from 28% in August to 17% in January, while approval among Black adults decreased from 9% to just 4%.
Much of the decline in Trump’s job approval has come among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents; currently 60% approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president, down from 77% in August.
Approval of Trump’s performance is now substantially lower among moderate and liberal Republicans than it was last year. Today, just 40% of moderate and liberal Republicans approve of Trump’s performance, while 57% disapprove. Last August, 63% of moderate and liberal Republicans approved of Trump’s job performance. Among conservative Republicans – who make up a clear majority of the GOP – 73% continue to approve of how Trump is handling his job, though this share is also down from the 85% of conservative Republicans who said this in August.
Attitudes among Democrats, the vast majority of whom already disapproved of the president’s performance, are essentially unchanged since August.
