WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' approval of the job Donald Trump is doing as president has been highly stable, showing less movement than all previous presidents' ratings during their first two years in office. His presidency also has been notable for the absence of two historically reliable patterns in presidential job approval -- honeymoon periods and rally events. It is possible that Trump -- and to a lesser extent his predecessor Barack Obama -- have ushered in a new era of marked stability in job approval ratings resulting from extreme party polarization.
1. Trump's Stable Job Approval Ratings

To date, Trump has averaged 39% job approval as president, with his survey ratings ranging from a low of 35% to a high of 45%. The 10-percentage point range in Trump's approval is the smallest for any president during his first two years in the Oval Office by a significant margin. Richard Nixon had the second smallest range of job approval at 16 points, while the average for presidents prior to Trump during their first two years is 28 points.

Range in Presidential Job Approval Ratings During First Two Years in Office
Low Approval Rating High Approval Rating Range
% % (High - Low)
Trump (Jan 2017-Dec 2018) 35 45 10
Nixon (Jan 1969-Jan 1971) 51 67 16
Johnson (Nov 1963-Nov 1965) 62 79 17
Eisenhower (Jan 1953-Jan 1955) 57 75 18
Kennedy (Jan 1961-Jan 1963) 61 83 22
Clinton (Jan 1993-Jan 1995) 37 59 22
Obama (Jan 2009-Jan 2011) 43 67 24
G.H.W. Bush (Jan 1989-Jan 1991) 56 82 26
Reagan (Jan 1981-Jan 1983) 37 68 31
Ford (Aug 1974-Aug 1976) 37 71 34
Carter (Jan 1977-Jan 1979) 39 75 36
G.W. Bush (Jan 2001-Jan 2003) 51 90 39
Truman (Apr 1945-Apr 1947) 33 87 54
Data for Presidents Truman through George W. Bush based on multi-day Gallup polls. Data for Trump and Obama based on weekly averages of Gallup tracking.
Gallup

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