New polling shows President Donald Trump has a surprising-to-some approval rating on par with and even higher than past presidents, despite some doomsday talks by Democrats, the media and others. 

A Real Clear Politics (RCP) polling average Sunday showed Trump’s job approval rating at roughly the 60-week mark of his second term edged past those of former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush at the equivalent points in their second terms. 

Trump’s RCP average currently sits at 42.7% approval (54.8% disapproval), a figure that has recently surpassed Obama’s comparable reading of around 42.7% in March 2014 and notably outpaced Bush’s lower average of roughly 38% (with some snapshots dipping to the mid-30s) in March 2006. 

Despite the drama

The comparison, drawn from RCP’s dedicated second-term overlay chart, highlights a slight but notable outperformance by Trump amid ongoing legislative drama, economic stressors, and foreign policy challenges like the current conflict with Iran. 

One of Trump's major legislative goals is to pass the election security bill, the SAVE America Act. However, the Senate blocked the consequential bill in a narrow vote marked by deep partisan rifts, halting progress on immigration and infrastructure priorities. Republican leaders blamed Democratic filibusters for derailing what they called essential relief measures. Democrats claim the bill's provisions favored corporate donors over working families and vowed to negotiate only on revised terms.

Inflation and global supply disruptions continue to dampen consumer confidence

Additionally, the U.S. economy has yet to rebound as strongly as the Trump administration forecast, leaving some analysts questioning the pace of recovery. Officials point to recent tax reforms and deregulation efforts as foundations that will soon spur job growth and investment, but economists warn that persistent inflation and global supply disruptions continue to dampen consumer confidence in the short term.

Finally, military engagements with Iran have intensified following a series of retaliatory strikes, testing the limits of President Donald Trump's foreign policy approach. Defense Department reports confirm U.S. involvement in targeted operations to protect regional allies and shipping lanes. Bipartisan calls in Congress seek clearer exit strategies amid rising concerns over potential escalation and humanitarian costs.

Even with these issues, however, Trump and Republicans still fare better than Democrats. A March Fox News Poll found abysmal approval ratings for the congressional Democrats, with job disapproval at a record 70%. Congressional Republicans are comparatively better, with disapproval at 64%.