Gallup to stop measuring presidential approval ratings
by Joe Fisher · UPIFeb. 11 (UPI) -- Gallup will stop measuring and publishing presidential approval ratings this year, the analytics firm announced on Wednesday.
The company said in a statement that it is getting out of tracking the approval ratings of politicians to focus its research on "issues and conditions that shape people's lives."
"That work will continue through the Gallup Poll Social Series, the Gallup Quarterly Business Review, the World Poll and our portfolio of U.S. and global research," a spokesperson for Gallup said.
Gallup's Presidential Job Approval Rating has been used to measure the public's sentiment toward the president's overall performance and performance on certain issues for decades. It began to report presidential approval ratings in 1938.
President Donald Trump's approval rating has fallen to 36% in his second term, Gallup's December poll said. His average approval rating during his first term was 41.1%, lower than any president since Harry Truman, who was in office from 1945 to 1953.
Trump's immigration enforcement and tariff policies are among the areas that the public has most disapproved of during his second term.
Gallup said that ending its presidential approval ratings was not in response to political pressure from the White House.
"This is a strategic shift based on Gallup's research goals and priorities," Gallup said.
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Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., looks on as Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks during a press conference after weekly Senate Republican caucus luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo