Trump's Approval Numbers With His Fellow Republicans Are a Really Big Deal Right Now

No matter what his opponents try to make of his numbers, President Donald Trump has been riding quite the high for his second term among his fellow Republicans. The numbers are even at "history making" levels. So, how do these numbers compare to more recent past presidents? And what could that mean in the context of what's currently going on in the country?

As Matt highlighted earlier on Wednesday, CNN's Harry Enten recently Trump's numbers among his fellow Republicans, which are the highest of any Republican president at this point on record.

It's worth mentioning that to start, Enten was discussing with Sara Sidner on "CNN News Central" how these are Trump's numbers among those who strongly approve of the president. "So, this isn't just Republicans who like Donald Trump. This is Republicans who love Donald Trump. And he's up like a rocket," Enten emphasized, sharing numbers from his own aggregate. That he was at 53 percent among his fellow Republicans who strongly approved of the job during during his first term, "is pretty good," Enten offered, then going on to highlight how much better the 63 percent figure is that much better.

As the text n the screen also mentioned, Trump's approval, including among those fellow Republicans who somewhat approve, is "close to 90%."

When Sidner acknowledged that "any politician would like this number here," and asked how it compared to other Republican presidents, Enten brought up how it was "history making."

Five months into their presidency going back to Republican President George HW Bush, the 41st president was at a 46 percent strongly approve rating, while George W. Bush was at 59 percent, and Trump went from 53 percent in his first term to now that 63 percent figure. "And, get this, Donald Trump beats Ronald Reagan when it comes to the strongly approved five months. And, of course, Reagan was coming off that high after that assassination attempt," Enten also pointed out, highlighting how Trump's numbers are thus even that much more impressive.

"So, the bottom line is, Donald Trump is making history with the Republican base. He is more beloved by this Republican base than any Republican base loved any GOP president five months in. It is history making," he again made clear.

GOP voters love for Trump is record breaking. His strong approval (63%) is up like a rocket from term 1 (53%).

It's higher than any GOP prez on record at this pt.

95%+ of those Trump endorses win primaries. When you mess with Trump, you go in the grinder to quote Good Burger. pic.twitter.com/1Op7Wjq479
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) July 1, 2025

That segment took place as the Senate was still engaged in their vote-a-rama for over 24 hours voting on amendments before final passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill in that chamber. Vice President JD Vance was there to cast the tiebreaking vote on amendments and the final bill itself.

Sidner referenced Sunday's announcement from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) about his retirement. He voted against the motion to advance the OBBB on Saturday and again against final passage on Tuesday. This open seat will thus especially be one to watch for the 2026 midterms. Sidner thus asked about the effectiveness of Trump's endorsement, including when it comes to calling for primary challengers.

Trump similarly has repeatedly called for a primary challenger to oppose Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who voted against the OBBB when it came through the House and has made clear he'll oppose it again. He's also indicated that other House Republicans are with him.

I don’t have a bloc of anything. There are probably 10 NO’s at the moment, but I don’t speak for them or vouch for them.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) July 2, 2025

BTW, I might have misunderstood Reese’s question or he might have misunderstood my answer. This happens in the hallways when people are rushing by each other.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) July 2, 2025

Emphasizing that 63 percent number yet again, Enten spoke to the perspective of Republican lawmakers, offering, "you say, my goodness gracious, you do not want to go against Donald Trump because the Republican base is with Donald Trump. And it's not just the polling. We actually have the data to show that the Republican base is with Donald Trump."

In 2022, Trump-endorsed candidates for congressional and gubernatorial races won 95 percent of their races. Those numbers were even higher in 2020 and 2024, at 98 percent and 96 percent, respectively. These endorsed candidates even when they were challenging incumbents.

"So, Donald Trump is a winner in Republican primaries. You go against Donald Trump, to quote the movie 'Good Burger,' you go in the grinder. Donald Trump is the key nugget. His endorsement's the key nugget in a GOP primary because he's historically strongly popular with the GOP base," Enten offered.

Of course, the OBBB isn't the only piece of news affecting the Trump administration right now. The president has continued to announce trade deals, including with Vietnam. For all of the handwringing from some about tariffs, CNBC reported that $121 billion has been brought into the United States as a result, with the stock market also reaching a historic high.

President Trump keeps proving the tariff "experts" WRONG! https://t.co/ZThRNOpSL1 pic.twitter.com/A2dqzidhzX
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 2, 2025

Trump, who has been quite consistent for years about how Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, also in recent weeks announced that an attack had been launched targeting Iran's nuclear program. Not only are Republicans not in disarray over such an issue, as Townhall has been covering, but polling shows that even Democrats are concerned about Iran, including the possibility of getting a nuclear weapon.

While Trump's numbers compared to his own first term and his fellow recent Republican presidents are worthwhile to examine, it's also worth looking to recent Democratic presidents. Trump's successor/predecessor was President Joe Biden, who may have started with high approval ratings, but that just makes his plunge in approval ratings before he had reached the milestone of a year in office that much worse.

It was also Biden's fellow Democrats who forced him out of the race last July, after his disastrous June 27 debate against Trump on CNN, when the signs of his declining mental faculties, which had already been obvious, could no longer be ignored. The polls spelled a problem for Biden as well, from when he was facing Trump in a rematch from 2020, to the aftermath of that debate, and his approval ratings, including with his fellow Democrats.

Just days before he left office, Gallup released a poll on how Americans believed Biden would be remembered. Going back to President John F. Kennedy, he ranks among the worst. Further, even Biden's fellow Democrats don't think he'll be remembered too fondly. Not even a majority of Biden's fellow Democrats can say he was "above average" or "outstanding," with 44 percent saying so. Of all the Democratic presidents included in the chart, he's the only one who can't get a majority saying so.

Trump seems to be doing just fine. And, especially if the House actually overcomes any internal House Republican concerns and passes the OBBB once more to send it to his desk, he could be doing even better.