Gallup will no longer track presidential approval ratings after nearly 90 years

Gallup will no longer measure presidential approval, the analytics firm confirmed on Feb. 11.

Founded by George Gallup in 1935, the Washington, DC-based management company began tracking the president's job performance 88 years ago.

Gallup told USA TODAY it will no longer publish "favorability ratings of political figures," a decision it said "reflects an evolution in how Gallup focuses its public research and thought leadership."

A statistician and founder of the American Institute of Public Opinion, Gallup first sent pollsters across the United States during the Depression era to ask people whether they approved or disapproved of how the nation's commander-in-chief was handling his job.

Since its inception, journalists have used the polls to disseminate that information to the public. In addition to tracking a president's popularity, the polls also reveal partisanship and other rapid public opinion moves while a president is in office.

The change is part of "a broader, ongoing effort to align all of Gallup’s public work with its mission," the company wrote in an email. "For nearly a century, Gallup’s U.S. polling has provided rigorous, independent insight into the American people − their perspectives, values and lives. Leadership ratings have been part of Gallup’s history. At the same time, the context around these measures has changed."

Gallup said the ratings are now "widely produced, aggregated and interpreted, and no longer represent an area where Gallup can make its most distinctive contribution."

"Our commitment is to long-term, methodologically sound research on issues and conditions that shape people’s lives," the company wrote, adding that its work will continue through the Gallup Poll Social Series, the Gallup Quarterly Business Review, the World Poll and more.

It was not immediately known what other factors led up to the company's decision.

When did Gallup polling start?

Gallup polling officially began in 1938.

Powered by its "ability to ask the right questions," more than 95% of the world's population is represented by the Gallup World Poll, the company's website reads.

More than 4,000 organizations use Gallup's workplace performance platform, the company said.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.