--- title: "Trump disputes approval ratings, claims 60% figure" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/trump-disputes-approval-ratings-claims-60-figure" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/trump-disputes-approval-ratings-claims-60-figure" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/trump-disputes-approval-ratings-claims-60-figure.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/trump-disputes-approval-ratings-claims-60-figure" category: "Politics" area: "United States" published: "2026-10-24T18:45:57.770Z" source_reported: "2026-10-24T17:33:06.000Z" updated: "2026-10-24T18:45:57.770Z" trust_score: 50 critic_score: 60 hype_score: 41 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-10-24T19:45:37.052982+00:00" --- # Trump disputes approval ratings, claims 60% figure *President Donald Trump has rejected current poll numbers, stating his approval rating is higher.* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 50 of 100, higher is better. Central claim attributed to Trump, with specific poll data cited from RealClearPolitics and Fox News. - Craft 60 of 100, higher is better. Reports include direct quotes and specific poll data, but some rely on digests. - Hype 41 of 100, lower is better. Headlines use strong language like 'crisis' and 'sinking polling' which is somewhat supported by the data. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - President Donald Trump stated his job approval rating is 60%, a figure he believes he could achieve if needed. - He dismissed current poll numbers as 'fake', including a RealClearPolitics average showing his approval at 38.8%. - A Fox News poll indicated Trump's approval rating at 36%. - The RealClearPolitics average aggregates data from over a dozen polling organisations. President Donald Trump has contested his job approval ratings, calling them 'fake'. During an interview with The Washington Examiner, Trump dismissed a RealClearPolitics poll average that placed his approval at 38.8%. He stated, 'I don’t believe I could be beaten by anybody' and suggested his own approval rating would be '60' if he needed it. The RealClearPolitics average incorporates data from more than a dozen outlets, including Rasmussen Reports, Economist/YouGov, Reuters/Ipsos, and Fox News. This average shows Trump's net disapproval rating at 60.4%. A separate Fox News poll reported Trump's overall job approval rating at 36%. ## Disagreement on poll validity Trump described the approval poll numbers as 'fake'. He reportedly based this argument, in part, on the earlier inclusion of data from Wedgewood Polls by The New York Times, a company that had admitted to using fabricated numbers. However, the Times had noted it did not use Wedgewood for its own approval metrics. ## What the coverage left out None of the reports printed below mention the specific details of the RealClearPolitics average's composition beyond stating it includes data from over a dozen outlets. The full reports from HuffPost and The Record do not detail the methodology or specific polls that constitute the RealClearPolitics average. ## Who covered it Shares of the 6 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 67% (4) - Centre: 33% (2) - Right: 0% (0) 0 of 6 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-10-24T19:45:37.052982+00:00. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 8 times; 0 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-10-24T20:45:22.908Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left - Reports from HuffPost, The Independent, The Independent (US), and Mediaite focused on Trump's claim of a 60% approval rating and his dismissal of existing polls. HuffPost highlighted Trump's statement, 'I think 60,' as his own number, contrasting it with the 38.8% shown in the RealClearPolitics average. The Independent and The Independent (US) used headlines stating Trump dismisses polls and insists his rating is 60%. Mediaite also reported Trump's insistence on a 60% approval rating and his statement, 'I don’t believe I could be beaten by anybody,' while noting the sinking polling numbers. ### Centre - The centre-rated reports from The Record and Political Wire also centred on Trump's claim of a 60% approval rating and his rejection of current polls. The Record, in a piece by Byron York, detailed Trump's job approval crisis, noting the 38.8% approval versus 60.1% disapproval in the RealClearPolitics average and a 36% approval in a Fox News poll. Political Wire reported Trump's claim that his job approval is 60%, citing Mediaite and Trump's statement about not believing he could be beaten, while also noting his approval was at 35% according to The Polling Dashboard. ### Right No separate framing summary. **Provisional coverage gap:** right. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - mixed: 1 - high: 4 - veryHigh: 1 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [HuffPost](https://huffpost.com/entry/trump-rejects-approval-ratings-poll-its-fake_n_6adccb4ae4b027da9ae6d5c4) — Trump Comes Up With His Own Approval Rating: 'I Think 60' - [The Independent](https://independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-approval-ratings-midterms-b3072742.html) — Trump dismisses polls, insists his approval rating is 60% - [The Independent (US)](https://the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-approval-ratings-midterms-b3072742.html) — Trump dismisses polls, insists his approval rating is 60% - [Political Wire](https://politicalwire.com/2026/10/24/trump-claims-his-job-approval-is-60) — Trump Claims His Job Approval Is 60% - [The Record](https://troyrecord.com/2026/10/24/byron-york-inside-trumps-job-approval-crisis) — Byron York: Inside Trump’s job approval crisis - [Mediaite](https://mediaite.com/media/news/trump-insists-his-job-approval-is-somehow-actually-60-amid-sinking-polling-i-dont-believe-i-could-be-beaten-by-anybody) — Trump Insists His Job Approval Is Somehow Actually 60% Amid Sinking Polling: ‘I Don’t Believe I Could Be Beaten By Anybody’ ## Questions **What job approval rating did Donald Trump claim for himself?** President Donald Trump stated that his job approval rating is 60%. He suggested this figure would be his rating if he needed it, indicating he believes he is more popular than current polls suggest. **What do current polls show about Donald Trump's approval rating?** Current polls show Donald Trump's approval rating significantly lower than the figure he claims. A RealClearPolitics average puts his approval at 38.8%, and a Fox News poll shows it at 36%. **How did Donald Trump respond to the poll numbers?** Donald Trump dismissed the current approval poll numbers as 'fake'. He reportedly based this assertion partly on past issues with specific polling companies, even though those companies were not necessarily used in the averages he cited. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/trump-disputes-approval-ratings-claims-60-figure. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "Trump disputes approval ratings, claims 60% figure", https://mediabias.news/politics/trump-disputes-approval-ratings-claims-60-figure