After nearly nine decades of tracking the nation's pulse on presidential performance, Gallup—the venerable public opinion polling agency—has announced it will cease publishing presidential approval ratings, marking the end of an era for American political analysis. The move, confirmed by Gallup on February 11, 2026, represents a seismic shift in how the U.S. and the world will gauge the popularity of its commander-in-chief. For generations, Gallup’s monthly surveys have provided a trusted barometer, referenced in newsrooms, campaign war rooms, and living rooms alike. Now, with a strategic pivot, Gallup is closing the book on a tradition that shaped the way Americans view their leaders.
Gallup’s decision comes at a moment of heightened scrutiny of polling itself, particularly from President Donald Trump, whose own approval ratings have been among the lowest ever recorded by the organization. Trump’s final monthly approval stood at 36 percent in December 2025, unchanged from November, and a far cry from the 47 percent peak he enjoyed in February 2025. According to The Hill, Gallup’s last measurement placed Trump at the lower end of the historical spectrum—just above his personal low of 31 percent in January 2021, the month of the Capitol riot.
In a statement provided to several media outlets, Gallup emphasized that the change is part of a broader evolution in its research priorities, not a reaction to political pressure. “This is a strategic shift solely based on Gallup’s research goals and priorities,” a company spokesperson told The Independent. “Our commitment is to long-term, methodologically sound research on issues and conditions that shape people’s lives.” The agency further clarified to The Daily Beast that “Trump had no role in the organization’s decision.”
Gallup’s presidential approval poll has been a fixture since the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt, with its first public opinion survey published in 1935 amid the Great Depression. The poll became a monthly snapshot of the nation’s mood, offering historical context and continuity unmatched by any other organization. Over the years, Gallup’s methodology—conducting phone interviews with live interviewers—garnered a reputation for accuracy, even as online and automated polling became the norm.
The historical sweep of Gallup’s data is unparalleled. Former President Harry Truman holds the dubious distinction of the lowest-ever Gallup approval rating, plummeting to 22 percent in February 1952 during a period of economic downturn and the Korean War. On the opposite end, George W. Bush soared to a record 90 percent in September 2001, in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. John F. Kennedy and Dwight D. Eisenhower also enjoyed lofty averages—71 percent and 61 percent, respectively—while more recent presidents have found the political weather less forgiving. Joe Biden’s average approval rating stood at 42 percent during his term, while Truman’s overall average was 45 percent.
Yet, as Gallup’s surveys chronicled the highs and lows of American presidencies, the polling landscape changed dramatically. The proliferation of new polls—over 50 conducted in January 2025 alone, according to The New York Times—has made it increasingly difficult for any single poll to stand out. Gallup itself discontinued its “horse race” presidential election polling in 2015, redirecting resources toward broader issues and policy research. Frank Newport, then Gallup’s editor in chief, explained the rationale as an effort to “keep the voice of the people injected into the democratic process.”
Gallup’s latest pivot reflects a similar logic. “We’re focused on providing analytics that inform and drive meaningful change,” Gallup spokesperson Justin McCarthy told The New York Times. The agency will continue its work through initiatives like the Gallup Poll Social Series, the Gallup Quarterly Business Review, and the World Poll, which measures public attitudes in about 140 countries. Recent Gallup research has included topics from global economic anxiety to political trends in Thailand, signaling a shift toward issues perceived as more directly impacting people’s lives.
The timing of Gallup’s announcement has inevitably drawn speculation, given President Trump’s ongoing and public battles with pollsters and the media. Trump has a well-documented history of dismissing unfavorable polls as “fake” or “fraudulent.” Just last month, he wrote on Truth Social, “Fake and Fraudulent Polling should be, virtually, a criminal offense. As an example, all of the Anti Trump Media that covered me during the 2020 Election showed Polls that were knowingly wrong.” In January 2026, he threatened to expand a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times after the newspaper published a poll showing his approval rating at 40 percent, down three points since September 2025. The Times, for its part, stood by its methodology, with spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander stating, “President Trump likes polls that appear favorable to him and dislikes polls that do not. But whether a poll is good or bad for the president has no bearing on our methodology.”
Trump’s legal efforts have not been limited to the Times. In December 2024, he filed a lawsuit against Iowa pollster Ann Selzer and The Des Moines Register over a poll showing Kamala Harris leading in Iowa ahead of Election Day—a suit he dropped in June 2025, after ultimately winning the state by 13 points. At times, however, Trump has cited favorable poll results, such as a Gallup survey in October 2023 that found Joe Biden’s approval rating at a low point.
Gallup’s departure from presidential approval polling leaves a void in American political life. For decades, its data provided a sense of continuity and a touchstone for both the public and the press. As The Hill notes, Gallup’s approval rating “has for decades been among the top barometers cited by media outlets measuring public opinion of the president’s performance.” The company’s exit from this space means that future assessments of presidential popularity will depend on a patchwork of other pollsters, each with their own methods and histories.
Still, Gallup’s new direction is not without precedent. The organization has steadily broadened its focus, conducting surveys on workplace engagement, artificial intelligence, and global trust in institutions. This evolution, Gallup argues, allows it to “align all of Gallup’s public work with its mission” and offer research that “adheres to the highest standards of social science.”
As the dust settles on Gallup’s historic shift, one thing is clear: the way Americans—and the world—measure presidential leadership is changing. Whether this marks a loss for public accountability or a step toward more meaningful research is up for debate. But for now, the monthly ritual of checking the Gallup presidential approval rating is, after 88 years, a thing of the past.