According to an ABC News/Washington Post poll, President Barack Obama is currently polling at a 58% approval rating, the highest approval rating the President has had since 2009. This news comes just 57 days before the general election, and some feel that the uptick may help Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in her bid for the presidency. According to ABC News, 80% of likely voters who approve of Obama support Clinton in the upcoming election. Obama’s disapproval rating was recorded at 40%, which is much lower than it has been in the past.
Dissatisfaction with the current presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump may contribute to Obama’s currently record-high approval rating. According to a RealClearPolitics poll, Clinton had a 42.3% approval rating and Trump had a 38.8% approval rating. Obama’s approval rating may also be experiencing an upward trend because of the President’s recent actions, including releasing hundreds of nonviolent drug offenders from federal prisons and coming out in favor of including a public option for health care policy.
Critics of the news are quick to note, however, that several other recent polls have shown the President sporting lower approval ratings, including a CNN/ORC poll that had Obama at a 51% approval rating, and a Fox News polls that placed him at 54%. However, it is unusual for a President soon to leave office to have as high approval ratings as Obama.