Gallup: Trump's approval tanks and hits a point that Obama never reached

President Donald Trump's approval rating has sunk to a new low, according to the latest Gallup poll.

The poll, which tracks Trump's daily approval and disapproval ratings, found Sunday that only 37 percent of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing, while an overwhelming 58 percent — also a new high — said they disapprove.

Sunday's ratings represented a sharp drop off compared to just one week prior when Trump's approval rating was 45 percent and his disapproval rating was 49 percent. In just one week's time, the gap between those Americans who approve of Trump's job and those who disprove grew by 17 points to a whopping 21 percentage points.

It's not clear what's behind the sharp drop off. Newsworthy events last week included continued debate over the direction of health care in the U.S. as House Republicans introduced and pushed their plan to repeal Obamacare, which reportedly has Trump's stamp of approval.

Also, the administration made headlines on the issue of government surveillance and wiretapping — including accusations that Britain spied on Trump by order of former President Barack Obama — and when two federal judges blocked Trump's revised travel ban.

Trump's 37 percent approval rating represents the lowest of any other president in recent history. During the same time in their first terms, President Barack Obama had a 63 percent approval rating, George W. Bush had a 58 percent approval, Bill Clinton had a 53 percent approval, George H.W. Bush had a 56 percent approval, Ronald Reagan had a 60 percent approval and Jimmy Carter had a 75 percent approval.

[graphiq id="kSQPU8SM8Yt" title="Trump vs. Obama Approval Rating" width="600" height="666" url="https://w.graphiq.com/w/kSQPU8SM8Yt" ]

Also, Obama's approval rating never reached below 40 percent, though it hung around the number for years. On the other hand, it took Bush more than five years before his approval rating reached 37 percent in April 2006.

The Gallup tracking poll of presidential approval and disapproval surveys 1,500 people nationwide and has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.