Donald Trump is now the most unpopular US President in 70 years
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Donald Trump is the least popular US President since World War Two.
The Republican maverick shocked pundits and politicians when he won the 2016 presidential election, despite receiving fewer votes than his opponent.
His surprise victory against Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton – who won the most votes in the election – saw him enter office with positive approval ratings.
But things soon took a nose dive.
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His approval ratings, though lower than some predecessors, were at a reasonable 44% on 20 January.
They slowly declined from 44.8 in January, to just over 40% by the end of May.
Since the Trans military ban was declared, President Trump has seen a significant decline in support.
At the nine month mark he is now the most unpopular president since Harry S. Truman, the United States’ 33rd president, who entered office in 1945.
RELATED: 56 retired generals condemn Trump’s transgender ban
Just 37% of Americans approve of his job performance, the lowest for any president at nine months in office in polling dating to 1946.
59% disapprove, a new high for the 45th president.
Pres. Trump is the only president since Harry Truman whose first year approval rating is under water. https://t.co/KwA5bCSvyU #ThisWeek pic.twitter.com/OBBnIiR2TI
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) November 5, 2017
This includes half of Americans who say they disapprove “strongly” – twice as many as strongly approve of President Trump.
Most voters also say he is failing to deliver on key campaign promises, up 14% from April to 55%.
The number of people who view Trump as a “strong leader” has plummeted by 13 points, from 53 percent at 100 days to 40 percent today.
That figure is lower than the worst rating on this question for either of his two predecessors throughout their two terms in office.
(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Meanwhile 62% of Americans do not believe Trump understands their problems, 65% do not trust Trump to act “responsibly” with North Korea and 66% believe he lacks the right temperament to be president.
Trumps’s poll ratings have tumbled since he reversed an Obama policy allowing transgender people to serve in the US military.
President Obama asked the Pentagon to lift its long-held ban on transgender soldiers serving openly in the military in June 2016.
The Department of Defense was given until July 1 of this year to implement the policy, with LGBT advocates hopeful that transgender soldiers would finally be able to serve openly.
The decision was delayed by Trump’s Defence Secretary James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis, before the President confirmed he would reverse the decision and put the ban back in place.
General James Mattis (Getty)
President Trump tweeted: “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.
“Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.”
Though Trump claimed the decision was taken “after consultation with Generals”, the Pentagon had not made any formal objection to the plan, and the decision rests entirely with the President.
The decision was reportedly pushed by Vice President Mike Pence, a strong opponent of LGBT rights.
He has since faced a number of lawsuits regarding the ban.
Defence Secretary Mattis said in September that he would set up a group of experts and wait until they had come to a conclusion on the issue before telling Donald Trump his recommendation.
In the meantime, Mattis has permitted trans people to continue serving their country.
The President famously dodged the draft four times during the Vietnam war, and has never served in the military.
