As 2025 ended, Gallup placed President Trump’s approval at 36%, the lowest first‑year mark in five decades. Instead of accepting that consensus, Trump claimed on Truth Social that his “real” approval is 64%—a figure no public national poll in 2025 supports. Other established surveys put him between 36% and 40%, and the episode echoes earlier instances in which he cited nonexistent polls.
Trump’s Claimed 64% Approval: A Self‑Awarded Rating at Odds With Every Major 2025 Poll
The first year of President Donald Trump’s second term ended poorly in the polls: Gallup’s year‑end national survey put his approval rating at just 36%. That figure—widely cited by analysts—reflects an erosion of public support amid economic concerns and a series of controversies.
“At 36 percent, his approval rating is the lowest of any president at the end of his first year in the past five decades, lower than it was at this point in his first term and lower even than Mr. Biden’s 40 percent when he left office.” — Steven Rattner, The New York Times
Faced with such poll results, a president might forecast an improvement, dismiss the polls as irrelevant, or argue that history will vindicate him. President Trump took a different approach: he announced a much higher, self‑assigned approval figure that no public survey supports.
The Hill reported that Trump wrote on Truth Social that his "real" approval rating is 64% and added, "The polls are rigged even more than the writers. The real number is 64%, and why not, our Country is 'hotter' than ever before." That claim stands in sharp contrast with publicly released national surveys from 2025.
President Donald Trump speaks during a political rally in Rocky Mount, N.C., on Dec. 19, 2025.(Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images)
Recent polls from established sources show markedly lower support: Gallup at 36%, Quinnipiac University at 40%, Reuters/Ipsos at 39%, and Marist at 38%. The number of publicly available national polls in 2025 that report a 64% approval rating for Trump is zero.
What makes the episode especially notable is its familiarity. One month into his second term, Trump similarly cited nonexistent or privately produced figures, telling a February audience he had seen polls showing him at 71% and 69%—numbers with no public evidence.
Why This Matters
When a sitting president promotes invented approval figures, it complicates public understanding of his political standing and undermines trust in discourse about public opinion. Clear, verifiable polling remains the most reliable measure for assessing public support.
Bottom line: Trump’s 64% claim is his own assertion and is not supported by any public national poll from 2025. The discrepancy highlights a pattern of promoting friendly—but unverified—numbers over independently gathered data.
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