Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:51 pm
Donald Trump’s unfavorable rating of 67% would make him the most unpopular presidential nominee in modern US political history.
Think of the most unlikable presidential nominee of the past thirty years. Now add 14 points to his unfavorable rating, and you have Donald Trump. For the record, the most unpopular nominee of the past three decades in either party was George H.W. Bush in 1992 (53% unfavorable). Trump makes Mitt Romney and his 52% unfavorable rating in 2012 look like Mr. Popularity.
The Washington Post broke down the approval ratings of all of the presidential nominees in the modern political era, and what they found was a historic level of unpopularity for Donald Trump. For example, Trump’s strongly unfavorable rating of 56% is three points higher than the highest presidential nominee’s unfavorable rating.
Trump’s unfavorable rating is nearly 30 points higher than Republican nominee Bob Dole’s in 1996 (38%), and Dole lost the popular vote 49%-41% to Bill Clinton. Dole lost the Electoral College 379-159. Trump’s unfavorable rating is 18 points higher than 1984 Democratic nominee Walter Mondale (49%), who lost the popular vote to Ronald Reagan 58.77% – 40.56%. Mondale lost the Electoral College 525-13. Trump’s unfavorable rating is 25 points higher than 1988 Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis, who lost the popular vote 53.37%-45.65%, and the Electoral College 426-111.
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The Republican Party is looking at a blowout if they nominate Donald Trump, who is not only unpopular but who a majority of the country already strongly dislikes.
Trump already has high name recognition, so there is little upside to his nomination. The American people already know Donald Trump, and they don’t like him.
Republicans have spent the last two years trying to make the 2016 election about Hillary Clinton, but it increasingly clear that this election is going to be all about Trump. The numbers suggest that if electing Donald Trump is the central question of the 2016 presidential election, Democrats could be in line for a historic victory in November.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
