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President Donald Trump's second presidential term began with a wave of executive orders and a "historically low" inaugural approval rating—mirroring the first time he took Office in 2017.
Knewz.com has learned that Trump has an inaugural approval rating of 47% during the start of his second term as President, according to the latest Gallup polls.
It has been reported that the reality TV star fared no better during his first term as President, when he saw an approval rating of 45%.
It is worth noting that Trump's inaugural approval ratings are among the lowest of any President in the United States post-1953.
According to reports, Trump is the only President with sub-50% initial approval ratings.
Conversely, Trump's disapproval rating at the beginning of his second term in Office is 48%, the highest of any U.S. President since Joe Biden, who had an inaugural disapproval rating of 37%.
Notably, Trump's disapproval rating was 45% the first time he took up the mantle of Commander-in-Chief in 2017.
It has also been pointed out that Americans are polarized over whether Trump's pace of dealing with the nation's problems is "just right," or a bit too fast. While 40% of the country's adults voted for the first option, 37% of U.S. adults said they believe Trump is being "too fast" in addressing major problems.
As promised during his campaign, Trump focused significant efforts to tighten border security in his way immediately after taking Office, as he signed a number of executive orders regarding the same.
The executive orders made major cuts to the pathways to reach the U.S., including the refugee program for those fleeing danger and persecution, according to reports.
For starters, the new President abolished birthright citizenship for children born to people living illegally in the U.S., a right that is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. As a result, it is expected that this particular executive order might run into legal challenges.
Trump also passed an executive order to declare a national emergency at the southern border, thus allowing him to use federal funding to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border without congressional approval.
The President also designated several Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations—a move which, according to reports, is specifically aimed at groups such as MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.
While signing the order, Trump said, "That’s a big one... People have wanted to do this for years. … Mexico probably doesn’t want that. But we have to do what’s right."
He also passed an executive order on Tuesday, January 21, that allowed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as Customs and Border Protection, to carry out raids and other operations at schools, places of worship, hospitals, and events such as weddings and funerals.
Previously, the departments were barred from doing so in order to allow immigrants to access necessary services without the fear of arrest.
"Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest... The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense," a Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday.
President Trump also signed an executive order dismantling the diversity and inclusion programs of the federal government.
It has been reported that Trump has called the programs "discrimination" and has vowed to restore a hiring process strictly based on merit.
Per the new directive from the Trump administration, federal agencies are required to compile a list of federal diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and staff members—against whom they are supposed to develop a plan to execute a “reduction-in-force action.”
Furthermore, the Office of Personnel Management shared a memo on January 21 that instructed federal agencies to place diversity, equity, and inclusion staff on paid leave by 5 p.m. January 22.
By the same deadline, the agencies were asked to take down web pages focused on the same.
It is worth noting that, much like his first term in the White House, Trump's inaugural approval ratings at the beginning of his second term seem politically polarized as well, since he has a 91% approval rating among Republicans, as opposed to only 6% among Democrats.
During his first term, Trump had an inaugural approval rating of 90% among Republicans and only 14% among Democrats.