President Obama’s approval numbers have dropped to an all-time low, according to the latest Gallup numbers released Friday.
With the economy still sputtering, Obama’s approval dropped to 41 percent during his 11th quarter in office (July 20-Oct. 19). It’s a five-point drop from his average Gallup rating of 46 percent from the previous quarter.
Only former president Jimmy Carter, who polled at 31 percent during the same period in his presidency, had a lower Gallup average than Obama’s 41 percent. Obama’s numbers are comparable to Ronald Reagan’s 44.4 percent showing in 1983 and Bill Clinton’s 46.4 percent in 1995—both men were reelected the following year.
While the numbers continue a troubling trend for the Obama administration, Gallup notes that the drop came amid months of new political and economic turmoil.
“The most notable event in Obama’s 11th quarter was probably the negotiations to raise the federal debt ceiling in late July and early August,” Gallup’s polling report notes. “Shortly after the agreement was reached, the stock market plummeted after Standard and Poor’s downgraded the U.S. credit rating. Later, the government’s jobs report showed no new net jobs were created in August, a sign the economy was still a long way from recovery.”
Obama’s quarterly numbers are an average of daily tracking polls between July 20 and Oct. 19. The margin of error is +/- 1 percent.