President Donald Trump's job approval rating sits at 44 percent, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll – a low bar in this survey for a new commander-in-chief.

Forty-eight percent of voters surveyed said they disapproved of the job the Republican is doing, though the polling shows a stark partisan divide.

He's the first president in recent history to kick off his administration with a net negative rating – -4 percent – as Barack Obama started with a net positive rating of 34 percent, with George W. Bush and Bill Clinton having similar numbers.

George H.W. Bush had it even better, with a net positive rating of 45 percent.

The numbers come just two days before President Trump will deliver his first State of the Union-style address to Congress, where he's expected to lay out his administration's vision.

Scroll down for video

President Donald Trump's approval rating stands at 44 percent, while 48 percent disapprove of the job he's doing, says a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll

A month into office, and President Donald Trump is still suffering from historically low approval numbers, with just 44 percent saying they approve of the job he's done

President Donald Trump began his Sunday by tweeting about the Democrats about about the 'failing' New York Times

He spent his Sunday morning on Twitter whacking his political enemies – the Democrats – and the media.

'For first time the failing [New York Times] will take an ad (a bad one) to help save its failing reputation. Try reporting accurately & fairly!' the president wrote, referencing a new television commercial that advertises the newspaper.

When asked about Trump's performance thus far, 30 percent of respondents said the president, who came from the business and entertainment world and held no elected office, was off to a 'good start.'

Another 24 percent said his start was 'mixed,' while 14 percent called it 'bad.'

Thirty-two percent, the biggest chunk of respondents, said he wasn't up to being president.

Now when just Republicans were asked this question, 63 percent said he was off to a good start, 28 percent called it mixed, 4 percent called it bad and 5 percent said he wasn't up to being president.

When just Democrats were sequestered, 5 percent said Trump was off to a good start, 13 percent considered it a mixed start, 22 percent called it bad.

There's a sizable partisan split when voters were asked their view on how the president is doing

President Donald Trump's still scores low when voters are asked about his temperament, but higher on 'being firm and decisive'

And 58 percent of Democrats said Trump wasn't up to being president.

The biggest clump of independents, 38 percent, said they viewed Trump's performance thus far as 'mixed.'

Asked to define those early challenges that Trump has faced, 52 percent of respondents called them 'real problems,' which were specific to his administration, while 43 percent considered them your average 'growing pains' of a new presidency.

The new poll shows that Trump's temperament is still a problem for many American voters, as he received a net -37 percent on that characteristic.

Trump was also panned for his ability to deal with an international crisis (-21 percent), being knowledgeable and experienced enough to be president (-18 percent), and being honest and trustworthy (-15 percent).

It's not all bad news for Trump.

He received the highest net positive rating for being strong and decisive, 29 percent, and positive ratings for changing business as usual (14 percent), being straightforward and direct (12 percent), being effective and getting things done (12 percent) and dealing with the economy (11 percent).

More protesters came out today, showing solidarity with the press in New York outside of the New York Times building

Protesters pushed back on recent comments President Donald Trump has made about the media as he continues to battle damaging reports about his administration

A bulk of Americans haven't been surprised by Trump's job performance thus far, with 57 percent saying the happenings have been about what they expected.

Another 19 percent said he was doing better than they expected, while 24 percent said he's done worse.

In a month's time, Trump's numbers have ticked up when respondents were asked their feelings about the president.

In January, 20 percent viewed him very positively, now that number has moved to 27 percent.

Additionally, while 38 percent viewed him very negatively in January, 35 percent viewed him very negatively in February, a slight improvement.

According to NBC News/Wall Street Journal's polling through the years, audiences felt the most negatively about Trump in April 2016, as he was about to clinch the Republican nomination.

The 27 percent who feel very positively about the president is a high water mark for Trump, who received 3 percent on that question when it was first asked in July 1990, during the midst of his highly-publicized divorce, and again in October 1999, when he announced his first presidential exploratory committee.

Additionally, the percentage of people who feel the country is moving in a positive direction ticked up slightly too, with 40 percent making that statement in February, while 37 percent made that statement in January.

That's much better than how the country was feeling last summer, when 18 percent said the country was headed in the right direction and another 73 percent said the country was headed in the wrong direction.

Today 51 percent say the country is headed in the wrong direction.

