President Trump’s approval rating fell to 38 percent on Friday after a week of turmoil that included the departure of his national security adviser and the public airing of tensions between the intelligence community and the West Wing.
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The Gallup poll found that 56 percent of respondents disapproved of Trump’s performance in office.
Trump’s predecessor survived more than two years before his job approval hit such lows. Former President Barack Obama saw his approval rating decline to 38 percent in August and October 2011 amid a bitter debt ceiling fight in Congress that saw the U.S. credit rating downgraded.
Trump’s average approval rating is 44.7 percent, according to RealClearPolitics.
The Gallup survey, conducted daily based on roughly 1,500 telephone interviews, according to the organization, has declined at a relatively steady pace since its high of 46 percent just a few days after the inauguration.
Trump addressed the negative headlines that had besieged his White House this week by conducting an impromptu press conference on Thursday, during which he insisted his administration was operating like a “fine-tuned machine.”
Although other presidents have watched their approval ratings fall below 40 percent, few in recent history have seen it happen so early in their administrations.
