How long is a presidential honeymoon?
Critical Analysis
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:
According to the chart above, during the first six months of Dwight Eisenhower’s presidency, what percent of Americans disapproved of his presidency?
Net approval is a president’s approval rating minus their disapproval rating. What was president Trump’s net approval rating at the end of the first sixth months of his presidency?
According to FiveThirtyEight, at the end of the first six months of his presidency, Joe Biden currently had a +9.6 point net approval rating. How does that compare to historical averages in the chart above?
According to the chart above, over the past 60+ years, what is one trend in the net approval ratings for presidents in the “honeymoon period” - the early period of their presidency?
What do you reckon (think) is the main reason for that trend?
There once was a thing called a presidential honeymoon (it's one of our GoPo Pro vocab terms), where presidents were basically supported for their first 100 days-or so in office. What do you think the next president’s honeymoon will be like?
Gallup has also found that presidential honeymoon periods are getting shorter and shorter. By the last few decades of the 20th century, the typical honeymoon period had shrunk to seven months, down from an average of 26 months earlier in American history. Explain whether this is good news.
Biden currently has a net approval rating of - 18.0, meaning that his disapproval rating is 18 points higher than his approval rating. How do you think this net approval rating will impact Biden’s ability to pass laws and have nominees approved?
Throughout his entire presidency, Trump’s net approval was “underwater” - his disapproval was always higher than his approval. At the end of his presidency, Trump’s net approval was -19.3. Joe Biden’s net approval is currently -18.0. There are other people in both parties who have better net approval ratings. Why are the Republican and Democratic parties both running candidates with such horribly low net approvals?
Whatever their initial approval ratings are, what generally happens to presidential approval ratings as their term progresses?
Write and Discuss
Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.
Act on your Learning
Contact President Joseph Biden or tweet him at @JoeBiden and suggest one thing he could do to improve his net approval rating.
Learn More
Read the FiveThirtyEight article: Is the Presidential Honeymoon Over?
Get Creative
If President Biden were a Star Wars character, which one would he be?