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Donald Trump least popular US president-elect in two decades: polls

More than one in three Americans believe he will be a poor president, compared to 7% for Obama in 2008, 14% for Bush in 2000

US President-elect Donald Trump

US President-elect Donald Trump claps at the USA Thank You Tour event at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa, US. Photo: Reuters

AFP PTI Washington
Donald Trump's approval rating has improved since he won the White House on November 8, but he is still the least popular US president-elect in more than two decades.

An average of recent polls calculated by the Real Clear Politics website shows that about 50 per cent of Americans hold an unfavorable opinion of the Republican leader, against 45 per cent who view him positively.

That is better than on Election Day, when 58 per cent of voters expressed negative sentiments towards him. But Trump still trails his two immediate predecessors, according to a CBS poll made public today.

More than one in three Americans believe he will be a poor president, compared to seven percent for Barack Obama in December 2008 and 14 per cent for George W Bush in December 2000.
 
Gallup, using data going back to Bill Clinton's election in 1992, found that Trump has hit a new low in terms of public approval of how he's handled the transition, with 48 per cent giving him a thumbs down and the same percentage a thumbs up.

By comparison, three-quarters of Americans approved Obama's handling of the presidential transition, and two-thirds likewise thought Bill Clinton did a good job in the period between his election and inauguration.

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First Published: Dec 15 2016 | 9:34 PM IST

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