The American Society Of Magazine Editors Announce Finalists For 2020 National Magazine Awards

The New York Times Magazine, New York, National Geographic Top List With Most Nominations For Coveted Ellie Awards;

Annual Awards Show To Be Held At Brooklyn Steel On March 12

Former Esquire Editor-In-Chief David Granger To Receive Magazine Editors’ Hall Of Fame Award

Pamela Colloff Ties Record For Most Nominated Female Writer In Awards History

The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) today announced via Twittercast the finalists for the 2020 National Magazine Awards for Print and Digital Media. ASME will celebrate the 55th annual presentation of the Ellie Awards and honor the 112 finalists on Thursday, March 12th, at Brooklyn Steel, a music venue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) logo. Provided by ASME

This year, the Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame Award will be presented by journalist Tom Junod to David Granger, former editor-in-chief of Esquire magazine. Junod previously wrote for Granger at GQ and Esquire, where his work included the cover story on Fred Rogers that inspired the movie “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.”

Winners receive “Ellies,” the elephant-shaped statuettes modeled on Alexander Calder’s stabile “Walking Elephant” that give the awards their name.

The evening reception will include the presentation of the 2020 ASME Award for Fiction to The Paris Review, as well as honors for the five winners of the 2020 ASME Next Awards for Journalists Under 30. More than 500 magazine editors and publishers are expected to attend the annual event.

Other highlights in 2020 include Pamela Colloff, ProPublica senior reporter and The New York Times Magazine staff writer, receiving her seventh nomination with “False Witness.” Colloff now ties the overall record for most nominated female writer in awards history with The Atlantic’s Caitlin Flanagan.

The New York Times Magazine led the nominations with 10, the most in its history, with three nominations (General Excellence, Podcasting, Public Interest) honoring The 1619 Project, which “aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative,” according to the magazine. Rounding out top finalists were New York magazine and National Geographic with nine and eight nominations respectively.

Titles with multiple nominations also included Bon Appétit and The New Yorker with six each, and SELF and Texas Monthly with four.

Sixty-two titles were nominated in 22 categories. Twenty publications were nominated for the most prestigious honor, General Excellence. Nominees include large-circulation titles such as Cosmopolitan (which also received its seventh-consecutive nomination in Personal Service), regional titles like Atlanta, special-interest magazines like National Parks, literary journals like Oxford American and digital-first publications like The Trace.

Bon Appétit was nominated for the ninth consecutive year in General Excellence, the most consecutive nominations in that category in the history of the awards. Aperture and New York magazine received their fifth-consecutive nominations in General Excellence, while The Marshall Project received its fourth-consecutive nomination in General Excellence.

Ten media organizations were first-time finalists in any category: 1843, Catapult, the Charleston Gazette-Mail, Emergence, Gimlet, National Parks, Quanta, Stranger’s Guide, Vox, and The Washington Post Magazine for its “Prison” issue featuring the work of currently and formerly incarcerated Americans.

Taffy Brodesser-Akner received her first nomination for Feature Writing with “All That Glitters,” a piece featured in The New York Times Magazine on gender discrimination and sexual harassment at Sterling Jewelers. Jia Tolentino is also a first-time finalist in Columns and Commentary for her work in The New Yorker.

New York magazine and The Cut writer Rebecca Traister received her fourth nomination in six years for her profile of Elizabeth Warren.

“This year’s finalists for the National Magazine Awards showcase an incredible range of innovative, inspiring journalism from 62 magazines and websites,” said Sid Holt, executive director of ASME. “Columbia and ASME join me in congratulating the many writers and editors nominated today—their work underscores the power of magazine journalism to entertain and challenge readers and listeners both in print and online.”

National Magazine Awards 2020 Finalists

General Excellence, News, Sports and Entertainment

• The California Sunday Magazine
• ESPN The Magazine and ESPN Cover Story
• The Marshall Project
• New York
• The New York Times Magazine

Publishing Giant Condé Nast Announces New Global Leadership Structure

U.S./New York-based Condé Nast and London-based Condé Nast International Are Integrated as One Global Team. New Consumer Marketing Function to Bring Focus on Direct-to-Consumer Efforts With Unified Commercial Team to Better Serve Global Clients’ Holistic Needs

New Leadership Structure is Expected to Help Further Turn the Financial Ship Around As Company Moves Beyond Closing and Selling Off Magazine Titles, Layoffs and Consolidation of Workforce Across All Titles

Long expected, Condé Nast yesterday appointed a new global leadership team designed to accelerate the company’s evolution into a 21st-century media company. The new organizational structure, which combines Condé Nast and Condé Nast International into a unified global team, was created with several guiding principles in mind, including the preservation of local editorial voice and authority, an enhanced focus on the consumer, unification of the company’s ad and commercial sales functions to reflect clients’ local and global needs and the development of new ways to share capabilities and best practices across the company.

Condé Nast is a global media company, home to iconic brands including Vogue, The New Yorker, GQ, Glamour, AD, Vanity Fair, and Wired, among many others. The company’s award-winning content reaches 84 million consumers in print, 367 million in digital and 379 million across social platforms, and generates more than 1 billion video views each month. The company is headquartered in London and New York and operates in 32 markets worldwide including China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico & Latin America, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, the U.K., and the U.S., with local license partners across the globe. Launched in 2011, Condé Nast Entertainment is an award-winning production and distribution studio that creates programming across film, television, social and digital video and virtual reality.

“One of my top priorities has been to define our organizational structure so that we can take full advantage of our unique growth opportunities and exceptional content around the world,” said the recently-appointed CEO of Condé Nast, RogerLynch “I’m confident that our new global structure will better enable us to collaborate across teams and markets and, ultimately, deliver unparalleled experiences for our consumers and clients.“

The new structure is as follows:

Global Content Functions:: Anna Wintour, U.S. Artistic Director, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue U.S. and (newly-appointed) Global Content Advisor, will continue in her role as U.S. Artistic Director and Editor-in-Chief of Vogue U.S., and will add Global Content Advisor and oversight of Vogue International to her responsibilities. In her expanded role, Wintour will advise the executive leadership team on global content opportunities and act as a resource to editors-in-chief and editorial talent worldwide.

Oren Katzeff, President of Condé Nast Entertainment (CNE), will expand the company’s digital video, film and television operations to create best-in-class video content experiences for audiences worldwide. The company has been increasing its focus on video content and currently generates 1.1 billion video views per month. Under Oren’s leadership, CNE will now be the core of our global network of video teams, supporting the growth of our video businesses in all markets.

David Remnick, Editor-in-Chief of The New Yorker, will also continue to report directly to Lynch.

Global Operations Organization: Wolfgang Blau, President, International & Chief Operating Officer will oversee all non-U.S. markets, as well as selected global strategic functions, including Product & Technology, Data, Licensing, Global Editorial Operations, Business Development, and Delivery & Business Transformation. This organization will ensure day-to-day operational excellence and capability sharing across the business.

Global Commercial Organization: Pamela Drucker Mann, Global Chief Revenue Officer & President, U.S. Revenue, will lead a new global revenue organization that brings together the company’s U.S. and international ad sales, creative and agency, B2B marketing and client service capabilities. Jamie Jouning, promoted to Chief Client Officer, will report to Drucker Mann and oversee key global accounts, multi-market deals, and central digital ad operations. Drucker Mann will define ad sales and ad product strategies globally, and work closely with Jamie and the central team and commercial leads in the company’s worldwide markets to drive overall ad, agency, and B2B revenue and share best practices.

Consumer Marketing Organization: Condé Nast is creating a new consumer marketing organization that will be led by a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and will bring added focus to the company’s direct-to-consumer efforts. As the company expands its consumer offerings, this team will be charged with developing best-in-class capabilities and consistency across consumer experiences on every platform. The team will also be responsible for consumer revenue, with a core focus on subscriptions and memberships. In addition, the team will have responsibility for global brand management, consumer research, and insights and global audience development, ensuring a data-driven approach to the company’s efforts. The search for a CMO to lead this new organization will begin immediately.

Corporate Functions: The company is also globalizing its three corporate functions to leverage skills, expertise and standardize processes and best practices: People, Finance and Communications. The company will begin an immediate search and selection process for these and other open roles. Until new leaders are identified, teams will maintain their existing reporting lines and responsibilities.

“We’re bringing added focus to our direct-to-consumer efforts and will build a new consumer marketing function that will be charged with developing best-in-class subscription and membership capabilities, and maintaining the authenticity of our iconic global brands,” Lynch continued. “And by transforming our sales organization into a unified global team, Condé Nast will be better positioned to serve the holistic needs of our clients around the world and make it easier for them to do business with us.“

The new structure and appointments take effect immediately.

Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness Will Join SMIRNOFF™ Vodka at the 2018 NYC Pride March

In Honor of LGBTQ Pride month and Inclusivity for all, SMIRNOFF Vodka Pledges to Donate an Additional One Million Dollars to the Human Rights Campaign in Support of the LGBTQ Community

This Sunday, SMIRNOFF™ vodka continues its decades of support for the LGBTQ community by partnering with Queer Eye television personality, hairdresser, web series star and podcaster, Jonathan Van Ness, to bring love in all its forms to life at the NYC Pride March. From dancing in the streets with SMIRNOFF drag queens to self-love selfies to strutting alongside marchers up Fifth Avenue, Van Ness will join the brand at the 2018 Pride March to encourage people everywhere to show their support for equality and love of all kinds.

Smirnoff logo

“SMIRNOFF is all about inclusivity and democratizing fun times for everyone, which totally speaks to me as a member of the LGBTQ community,” said Van Ness. “I could not be more excited to join SMIRNOFF for this year’s New York City Pride March. It truly is the ultimate celebration of love and equality for all, and once you add SMIRNOFF into the mix it becomes one big, fabulous, inclusive party. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?!“

SMIRNOFF’s Pride March celebration is meant to showcase that Pride comes in all different flavors, shapes, and colors. To celebrate PRIDE loud and proud, SMIRNOFF will have a large presence in this Sunday’s New York City Pride March. The brand has proudly participated in the parade since 2013, but is prepared to make this the biggest year yet with an over-the-top float, that is bold and inspiring, just like the LGBTQ community, in celebration of love in all its forms and “Pride in Every Flavor.” In addition to Jonathan van Hess as its host, the brand will also host 200 marchers, electrifying special guests will be performing along the parade route to get the crowd excited and engaged. In addition to New York City, SMIRNOFF is excited to bring its celebration of “Pride in Every Flavor” to Pride Marches in San Francisco, Atlanta, San Diego and more.

SMIRNOFF ‘Love Wins’ bottles

SMIRNOFF originally launched its “Love Wins” campaign in May 2017 with its limited-edition “Love Wins” bottle packaging for SMIRNOFF No. 21 vodka. Now, in 2018, the “Love Wins” bottles are back and are available nationwide for a limited time. Inside each bottle is the iconic SMIRNOFF No. 21 vodka, triple distilled and ten-times filtered, from the world’s most awarded name in vodka in the last ten years. As a brand that has supported the LGBTQ community for several decades, and was honored alongside DIAGEO with the prestigious 2018 Corporate Equality Award by the HRC this past February, SMIRNOFF is proud to continue to support love in all its forms.

SMIRNOFF’s redesigned 2018 “Love Wins” bottles feature the newly updated, special-edition bottle packaging, which highlights 34 real LGBTQ couples from across the United States. Each couple featured on the 2018 packaging submitted their photos through the brand’s website last year for a chance to be a part of the SMIRNOFF “Love Wins” campaign. Jessica & Whitney from Alabama, whose story began with a simple Facebook message, and Jeremy and Wutichai from Washington, D.C., who met while volunteering for the Peace Corps in Thailand, are just some of the real couples featured on the new bottles currently on shelves across the United States. Every SMIRNOFF “Love Wins” bottle is unique, with a different set of photographs that display real love and real people, along with its iridescent rainbow aesthetic and LGBTQ SMIRNOFF logo.

SMIRNOFF’s Ad Creative

In addition to the brand’s partnership with Van Ness, SMIRNOFF has also announced an increased commitment to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), with a pledge to donate $1 for every SMIRNOFF “Love Wins” bottle made to the HRC for a minimum of one million dollars over three years, starting in 2019. These funds will go towards supporting local HRC events to drive awareness of the fight for LGBTQ equality and help empower those who are leading that fight for equality in HRC’s 32 volunteer-led local steering committees in communities across the country.

David Wojnarowicz Retrospective At The Whitney Explores The Enduring Resonance Of An Artist Who Merged The Personal And The Political

This summer, the most complete presentation to date of the work of artist, writer, and activist David Wojnarowicz will be on view in a full-scale retrospective organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art. David Wojnarowicz: History Keeps Me Awake at Night is the first major re-evaluation since 1999 of one of the most fervent and essential voices of his generation.

David Wojnarowicz with Tom Warren, Self-Portrait of David Wojnarowicz, 1983–84. Acrylic and collaged paper on gelatin silver print, 60 × 40 in. (152.4 × 101.6 cm). Collection of Brooke Garber Neidich and Daniel Neidich, Photograph by Ron Amstutz. (The exhibition is organized by David Breslin, DeMartini Family Curator and Director of the Collection, and David Kiehl, Curator Emeritus, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.)

Opening at the Whitney on July 13 and running through September 30, David Wojnarowicz: History Keeps Me Awake at Night features more than a hundred works by the artist and is organized by two Whitney curators, David Breslin, DeMartini Family Curator and Director of the Collection, and David Kiehl, Curator Emeritus. The exhibition, which will be installed in the Museum’s fifth floor Neil Bluhm Family Galleries through September 30, draws upon the scholarly resources of the Fales Library and Special Collections (NYU), the repository of Wojnarowicz’s archive, and is also built on the foundation of the Whitney’s extensive holdings of Wojnarowicz’s work, including thirty works from the Museum’s collection. It will travel to the Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid, in May 2019, and to Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg City, in November 2019.

Scott Rothkopf, Deputy Director for Programs and Nancy and Steve Crown Family Chief Curator, remarked, “Since his death more than twenty-five years ago, David Wojnarowicz has become an almost mythic figure, haunting, inspiring, and calling to arms subsequent generations through his inseparable artistic and political examples. This retrospective will enable so many to confront for the first time, or anew, the groundbreaking multidisciplinary body of work on which his legacy actually stands.”

Beginning in the late 1970s, David Wojnarowicz (1954–1992) created a body of work that spanned photography, painting, music, film, sculpture, writing, performance, and activism. Joining a lineage of iconoclasts, Wojnarowicz (pronounced Voyna-ROW-vich) saw the outsider as his true subject. His mature period began with a series of photographs and collages that honored—and placed himself among—consummate countercultural figures like Arthur Rimbaud, William Burroughs, and Jean Genet. Even as he became well-known in the East Village art scene for his mythological paintings, Wojnarowicz remained committed to writing personal essays. Queer and HIV-positive, Wojnarowicz became an impassioned advocate for people with AIDS at a time when an inconceivable number of friends, lovers, and strangers—disproportionately gay men—were dying from the disease and from government inaction.

After hitchhiking across the U.S. and living for several months in San Francisco, and then in Paris, David Wojnarowicz settled in New York in 1978 and soon after began to exhibit his work in East Village galleries. Largely self-taught, Wojnarowicz came to prominence in New York in the 1980s, a period marked by great creative energy and profound cultural changes. Intersecting movements—graffiti, new and no wave music, conceptual photography, performance, neo-expressionist painting—made New York a laboratory for innovation. Unlike many artists, Wojnarowicz refused a signature style, adopting a wide variety of techniques with an attitude of radical possibility. Distrustful of inherited structures, a feeling amplified by the resurgence of conservative politics, Wojnarowicz varied his repertoire to better infiltrate the culture.

His essay for the catalog accompanying the exhibition Witnesses: Against Our Vanishing (curated by Nan Goldin at Artists Space in 1989–90) came under fire for its vitriolic attack on politicians and leaders who were preventing AIDS treatment and awareness. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) threatened to defund the exhibition, and Wojnarowicz fought against this and for the first amendment rights of artists.

Columbia University President Announces The Winners of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize

(All Images Provided by The Communications Office of the Pulitzer Prizes)

The 2018 Pulitzer Prize winners in 14 journalism and seven letters, drama and music categories were announced on Monday, April 16 at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The formal announcement of the prizes, made each April, states that the awards are made by the president of Columbia University on the recommendation of the Pulitzer Prize board. This formulation is derived from the Joseph Pulitzer will, which established Columbia as the seat of the administration of the prizes. Today, in fact, the independent board makes all the decisions relative to the prizes. In his will, Pulitzer bestowed an endowment on Columbia of $2,000,000 for the establishment of a School of Journalism, one-fourth of which was to be “applied to prizes or scholarships for the encouragement of public service, public morals, American literature, and the advancement of education.“

The Pulitzer Prize logo

In doing so, he stated: “I am deeply interested in the progress and elevation of journalism, having spent my life in that profession, regarding it as a noble profession and one of unequaled importance for its influence upon the minds and morals of the people. I desire to assist in attracting to this profession young men of character and ability, also to help those already engaged in the profession to acquire the highest moral and intellectual training.” In his ascent to the summit of American journalism, Pulitzer himself received little or no assistance. He prided himself on being a self-made man, but it may have been his struggles as a young journalist that imbued him with the desire to foster professional training.”

The iconic Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal is awarded each year to the American news organization that wins the Public Service category. It is never awarded to an individual. However, through the years, the Medal has come to symbolize the entire Pulitzer program.

In 1918, a year after the Prizes began, the medal was designed by sculptor Daniel Chester French and his associate Henry Augustus Lukeman. French later gained fame for his seated Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. One side of the medal displays the profile of Benjamin Franklin, apparently based on the bust by French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon. Decorating the other side is a husky, bare-chested printer at work, his shirt draped across the end of a press. Surrounding the printer are the words: “For disinterested and meritorious public service rendered by an American newspaper during the year….“

The name of the winning news organization is inscribed on the Franklin side of the medal. The year of the award is memorialized on the other side.

The 2018 Prize winners are:

Journalism

Public Service

The New York Times, for reporting led by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, and The New Yorker, for reporting by Ronan Farrow

For explosive, impactful journalism that exposed powerful and wealthy sexual predators, including allegations against one of Hollywood’s most influential producers, bringing them to account for long-suppressed allegations of coercion, brutality and victim silencing, thus spurring a worldwide reckoning about sexual abuse of women.

Breaking News Reporting

Staff of The Press-Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif.

For lucid and tenacious coverage of historic wildfires that ravaged the city of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County, expertly utilizing an array of tools, including photography, video and social media platforms, to bring clarity to its readers — in real time and in subsequent in-depth reporting.

Investigative Reporting

Staff of The Washington Post

For purposeful and relentless reporting that changed the course of a Senate race in Alabama by revealing a candidate’s alleged past sexual harassment of teenage girls and subsequent efforts to undermine the journalism that exposed it.

Explanatory Reporting

Staffs of The Arizona Republic and USA Today Network

For vivid and timely reporting that masterfully combined text, video, podcasts and virtual reality to examine, from multiple perspectives, the difficulties and unintended consequences of fulfilling President Trump’s pledge to construct a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

Local Reporting

The Cincinnati Enquirer Staff

For a riveting and insightful narrative and video documenting seven days of greater Cincinnati’s heroin epidemic, revealing how the deadly addiction has ravaged families and communities.

National Reporting

Staffs of The New York Times and The Washington Post

For deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nation’s understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the President-elect’s transition team and his eventual administration. (The New York Times entry, submitted in this category, was moved into contention by the Board and then jointly awarded the Prize.)

International Reporting

Clare Baldwin, Andrew R.C. Marshall and Manuel Mogato of Reuters

Clare Baldwin (International Reporting)

For relentless reporting that exposed the brutal killing campaign behind Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.

Feature Writing

Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, freelance reporter, GQ

Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah (Feature Writing)

For an unforgettable portrait of murderer Dylann Roof, using a unique and powerful mix of reportage, first-person reflection and analysis of the historical and cultural forces behind his killing of nine people inside Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C.

“The Newest Americans” Exploring Citizenship & Immigration In The Trump Era Opened April 3 At The California Museum

New Exhibit Capturing Experiences Of Immigrants Prompts Discussion On The American Dream Through July 8th Before Embarking On A 5-Year National Tour

Following the 2016 election, America’s political climate was polarized by the Trump Administration’s efforts to build a border wall, enact a Muslim ban and enforce mass deportations. Against this backdrop, photographer Sam Comen with interviews by Michael Estrin set out to capture the experiences of new Americans in the moments following their naturalization after two Los Angeles, CA ceremonies held in February and March of 2017. Their resulting portraits and interviews led to the development of “The Newest Americans” as a traveling exhibit created in partnership with the California Museum.

The California Museum’s  “The Newest Americans,” exploring U.S. citizenship and immigration in the era of President Donald J. Trump, is now open. The new exhibit prompts discussion on America’s legacy as a nation of immigrants and the future of the American dream through July 8, 2018, before embarking on a 5-year national tour managed by Exhibit Envoy.

Maria Teresa Cervantes (right), country of origin Mexico, pictured with daughter Lorraine (left) and grandson Jonathan Anda (center). CREDIT: By Sam Comen, courtesy of photographer.

“I commend the California Museum for presenting an exhibit examining the immigrant experience at this critical time in California and U.S. history,” said Secretary of State and Museum Board of Trustee Alex Padilla. “The display prompts much-needed discussion on civic engagement, citizenship, and civil rights, as the Trump administration enacts restrictive immigration policies that not only impacts families, but all California communities.”

Breznil Ashton, country of origin St. Vincent & the Grenadines. CREDIT: By Sam Comen, courtesy of photographer.

Maria Villagordoa, country of origin Mexico. CREDIT: By Sam Comen, courtesy of photographer

Illustrating a range of ages and walks of life, the 28 exhibit participants represent 23 countries of origin, including Mexico, Rwanda, China, Russia, and Syria. The exhibit includes photographs accompanied by text panels presented in English and Spanish sharing the subjects’ views on why they chose to become American citizens and what the American dream means to them.

Caixia Yang Phillipe, country of origin China. CREDIT: By Sam Comen, courtesy of photographer

Michael Jordan, country of origin Canada. CREDIT: By Sam Comen, courtesy of photographer.

Highlights include:

Gallup Reports Trump’s Job Approval Stabilizing at Lower Level

Gallup’s Trump Daily Approval Rate is 34% as of Today, August 31, 2017

President Donald Trump‘s job approval rating has stabilized, registering 34% or 35% in each Gallup Daily tracking three-day rolling average since Aug. 20, including 35% in the latest update based on Aug. 27-29 interviewing. The 34% approval ratings recorded last week tie the Aug. 11-13 measurement as the lowest Trump has had as president. And it still could go lower yet. 

After starting out in the mid-40s, Trump’s job approval rating has been below the 40% mark in each month since February. He is on pace to spend the entire month of August below 40%, with his job approval rating last at 40% on July 11.

The stable, lower job approval ratings in recent days produced a 35% weekly average for Trump during the week of Aug. 21-27. This is the lowest weekly average of his presidency.

Because of the recent pattern, Trump’s full-term approval average since he took office in January has now fallen below 40% for the first time, to 39%. The historically low job approval ratings for Trump are well-documented, but the weakness of his 39% term average to date is stark:

No other president has had a full-term average of less than 45% approval (Harry Truman) while in office.

• No other president has averaged less than 49% approval during his first year in office.
• Only three presidents — Bill Clinton (49%), Ronald Reagan (57%) and Barack Obama (57%) — have averaged less than 60% job approval in their first year.

Trump still has nearly five months left in his first year in office, and three full years beyond that until his first term is over. His unusually low ratings so far mean his support will need to improve substantially to avoid leaving office with the worst approval ratings a president has had by a significant margin.

Democratic Approval of Trump Stuck in Single Digits

The chances of Trump’s ratings improving substantially, however, are hampered by his low support among Democrats, a major reason why his overall approval is so low. In Aug. 21-27 Gallup polling, an average of 7% of Democrats said they approve of the job Trump is doing.

Single-digit approval ratings of the president are not uncommon in the recent era of highly polarized job approval ratings. Presidents Obama and George W. Bush registered many single-digit approval ratings from Republicans and Democrats, respectively, while in office. But neither did so for the first time until much later in his presidency — Obama in October 2010, nearly two years into his presidency, and Bush in October 2004, during his fourth year in office.

In contrast, Trump fell below 10% job approval among Democrats his second full week in office. Although Trump has seen some approval ratings among Democrats of 10% or higher since then, he has not done so since the week of April 24-30.

Obama had the lowest full-term average approval rating among supporters of the opposition party, at 13%. Trump has averaged 8% job approval among Democrats to date.

Trump Job Approval Rating Now at 34%, New Low

by Frank Newport/Gallup/Monday, August 14, 2017

President Donald Trump’s job approval rating in Gallup Daily tracking is at 34% for the three-day period from Friday through Sunday — by one point the lowest of his administration so far.

It is difficult to pinpoint the precise cause of the new low rating, but the changes were apparent on Friday, with his day-by-day ratings near 34% across Saturday and Sunday as well. Trump has consistently been in the news over the past week, including the continued focus on North Korea, even while taking a working vacation at one of his golf properties in New Jersey. The events in Charlottesville, Virginia, that resulted in the deaths of a 32-year-old woman and two Virginia State Police officers dominated news coverage on Saturday and Sunday. Trump’s prior three-day low reading was 35%, registered March 26-28.

From a broader perspective, Trump’s rating of 36% for the week ending Aug. 13 was also by one point his lowest on a weekly basis. The president has talked in recent days about doing well with his “base,” but Republicans’ latest weekly approval rating of 79% was the lowest from his own partisans so far, dropping from the previous week’s 82%. Democrats gave Trump a 7% job approval rating last week, while the reading for independents was at 29%. This is the first time independents’ weekly approval rating for Trump has dropped below 30%.

For the three-day period ending Sunday, Republicans’ approval of Trump was at 77%.

Trump’s highest three-day reading to date has been 46%, recorded most recently on Jan. 23-25, shortly after his Jan. 20 inauguration. He has averaged 40% so far since taking office.

Although he has the lowest rating in Gallup’s history for any newly elected president in the summer of his first term in office, Trump’s current 34% remains higher than the low points reached by a number of presidents during their administrations. Presidents George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon and Harry Truman all had job approval ratings lower than 34%, including the all-time low of 22% recorded by Truman in 1952.

Trump’s current approval rating is lower than any reading for his immediate predecessor, Barack Obama, who reached a three-day low of 38% several times in 2011 and 2014.

Frank Newport, Ph.D., is Gallup’s Editor-in-Chief. He is the author of Polling Matters: Why Leaders Must Listen to the Wisdom of the People and God Is Alive and Well. Twitter: @Frank_Newport

GET ARTICLES IN RELATED TOPICS:

• All Gallup Headlines
• Blog
• Government
• Politics
• Polling Matters
• Presidential Job Approval
• The Presidency