Gallup has confirmed it will stop conducting public opinion polling to establish presidential approval ratings or approval ratings for any individual political figures. The organization has been providing this data for eighty-eight years and is considered one of the leading and most reliable sources.

The move has shocked many. A statement from the organization to The Hill said the change “reflects an evolution in how Gallup focuses its public research and thought leadership.”

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“Our commitment is to long-term, methodologically sound research on issues and conditions that shape people’s lives,” the statement explained. “That work will continue through the Gallup Poll Social Series, the Gallup Quarterly Business Review, the World Poll, and our portfolio of U.S. and global research.”

But many have speculated there is more to the story, and that perhaps the president’s historically low approval ratings have something to do with the shift.

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The Hill said it asked a Gallup spokesperson if they had been in contact with the White House or anyone from the administration before making the decision. The response: “This is a strategic shift solely based on Gallup’s research goals and priorities.” 

The president’s Gallup approval ratings have been among the lowest in the organization’s history. He is currently at a job approval rating of 36%.

When compared with the average approval ratings of every president since Harry Truman, including his own in his first term, his is the absolute lowest. The next lowest is himself in his first term at 41.1%.

Folks on social media don’t think it’s a coincidence that the organization decided to halt the work it has done for almost nine decades while an authoritarian president has been pulling out all the stops to spread propaganda about how much America loves him.

At the same time, CNN acknowledged that the overall polling landscape is in the midst of a major shift, with multiple major public pollsters rethinking their methods as the ways we communicate change.

But the social media universe is nonetheless riddled with skepticism that the decision was made purely for practical reasons.

seems almost certain we’ll later find out they were coerced thehill.com/homenews/med…

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— Lance Ellisor (@ellisor.net) February 11, 2026 at 1:24 PM