Donald Trump claims his approval rating is higher than Barack Obama's but data suggests opposite

The President is being investigated for possible obstruction of justice

Donald Trump meeting with Barack Obama following election win (EPA)

Donald Trump has claimed his approval rating is higher than that of Barack Obama – despite the data he is referring to suggesting the opposite is true.

“The new Rasmussen Poll, one of the most accurate in the 2016 election, just out with a Trump 50 per cent approval rating. That’s higher than O’s #’s!” he wrote in an early morning tweet.

Last week, the President had tweeted an image of a Rasmussen Reports poll that put his approval rating at 50 per cent – the first time it had been above 50 per cent since April.

“His approval rating has ranged from a high of 59 per cent in late January shortly after he took office, to a low of 42 per cent in early April,” said the polling company.

On Sunday, Mr Trump sought to double down on the positive news by claiming his numbers were higher than those of his predecessor, Barack Obama.

However, data from the same polling company suggests that is not true. Mr Obama entered office on 20 January 2009 with an approval rating of 67 per cent. At this same stage of his presidency, his rating had slipped to 55 per cent, a level that was still a clear five points higher than that of Mr Trump.

Mr Obama’s lowest approval rating, as measured by Rasmussen, was in June 2010 when it fell to 42 per cent. His final score, on 17 January 2017, was 62 per cent.

Other polling companies have given Mr Trump, currently being investigated by a special prosecutor for possible obstruction of justice, a considerably lower rating.

Real Clear Politics, a site which collates data from the major national polls, estimated Mr Trump‘s approval rating to be 39.9 per cent from May 30 to June 15. The Huffington Post’s latest average puts the President’s approval rating at 38.8 per cent.