Year One of Trump 2.0, By the Numbers

Trump Approval Rating

Donald Trump ended the first year of his second term with a 43.4% job approval rating according to the RealClearPolitics Average. That was down 7 points from when he took office in January. As a point of reference, Trump finished the first year of his first term in 2016 with a 40.0% approval rating and a 55.6% disapproval rating.

In historical terms, Trump fared just as well in 2025 as his predecessors did in the first year of their second terms. In fact, from July 23 through Dec. 19, Trump’s approval rating was better than Obama’s and Bush’s almost the entire time.

Direction of the Country

On Jan 1, 2025, only 26.7% of Americans said the country was headed in the right direction versus 61.9% who said we were on the wrong track - a net-negative 35.2% spread. As 2025 comes to a close, that negative spread has been cut in half.

Congressional Job Approval

Congress started 2025 with a 20.0% job approval rating in the RealClearPolitics Average. It ended the year at 22.3%. Congress’s disapproval rating started the year at 67.0% and finished at 68.0%. For historical perspective, between 2009 and 2024, Congress averaged an approval rating of 18.75% and a disapproval rating of 71.63%.

Generic Congressional Ballot

In January of this year, the GOP held a 1.5% lead in the Generic Congressional Ballot Test. Republicans close 2025 trailing the Democratic Party by 3.9 percentage points. Again, for reference, at the end of the first year of Donald Trump’s first term, Democrats held a 12.9% advantage over Republicans in the Generic Ballot.