Gallup has ended its presidential approval polling after nearly 90 years, closing one of the longest-running measures of public opinion on the presidency. The company confirmed in February that it would stop asking Americans whether they approve or disapprove of the president’s job performance and shift its attention toward issues and policy polling.
The move lands with unusual force because people still search for a United States presidential approval rating every time the White House enters a new political cycle, and Gallup’s numbers remained a standard reference point. In early December 2025, Donald Trump’s most recent Gallup reading showed 36% approval and 59% disapproval, down from 47% approval in early 2025 when he returned to office for a second term.
Gallup said the change reflects a shift in corporate strategy, but the ending still marks the loss of a long public-opinion series that stretched back to the 1930s. The polling question itself was simple: “Do you approve or disapprove of the way [the current president] is handling his job as president?” For decades, that answer helped give a quick snapshot of how voters felt about the person in the Oval Office.
The history behind the series shows why the cutoff matters. The American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara compiled final Gallup ratings for each presidential term over the past 70 years, and the list captures how sharply public support can fall when political pressure builds. Richard Nixon’s final Gallup reading, taken between August 2 and 5, 1974, found 66% disapproval as he faced the threat of impeachment and removal before resigning on August 9, 1974. Harry Truman finished his second term in 1953 with the Korean War still weighing on public opinion, and a Gallup poll taken from December 11 to 16, 1952, found 56% disapproval. Jimmy Carter began with stronger numbers but ended his term facing the Iran hostage crisis and a struggling economy before losing the 1980 election to Ronald Reagan.
That long record is part of what makes Gallup’s exit more than a routine business decision. Other pollsters continue to publish presidential approval numbers, so the country will not lose the measure entirely. But one of the main continuous benchmarks is gone, and with it a comparison point that had outlasted wars, crises and presidencies. For Trump, the immediate picture is still clear: late November 2025 brought 60% disapproval, and his latest Gallup reading moved only slightly better, leaving the final question less about the number itself than about what replaces Gallup’s old standard.
