Fifty-three percent see President Donald Trump as a strong leader. | AP Photo Poll: Trump approval rating at 42 percent

President Donald Trump's approval rating as the 100-day mark nears is the lowest for any president since pollsters started measuring it in 1945, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Sunday.

Forty-two percent of Americans say they approve of Trump's performance as president, while 53 percent say they disapprove. Eight years ago, Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, had an approval rating of 69 percent, with 26 disapproving.


Trump doesn't appear to have to worry yet about whether support from those who voted for him in November will falter. Ninety-six percent of respondents who voted for Trump say it was the right thing to do, with only 2 percent regretting the decision, according to the poll.

Despite his overall low approval rating, not all of Trump's grades were low.

In regard to pressuring companies to keep jobs in the United States, 73 percent of respondents approve. Fifty-three percent see Trump as a strong leader. That figure still trails Obama, who 77 percent saw as a strong leader at this stage of his presidency.

In regard to North Korea, 46 percent say Trump is handling the situation “about right,” while 37 percent believe the president is being too aggressive. Only 7 percent believe Trump is being too cautious.

Over the past week, the president has dismissed the importance of the 100-day mark, labeling it a "ridiculous standard." Trump announced Saturday, however, that he will hold a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on April 29, which marks the 100th day of his presidency.

The poll of 1,004 adults was conducted by both landline and cellphone between April 17-20 in English and Spanish. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

The last president with an approval rating below 50 percent at this point in his administration was Gerald Ford, with only 48 percent approving of his performance, though only 32 percent disapproved. (Ford, of course, was not elected to the office, succeeding Richard M. Nixon in August 1974.)

The poll also showed that Trump has retained almost all the support of his voters from the election, whereas his Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton no longer has the backing of some of her supporters.

For the 2016 election, 46 percent of those polled said they voted for Clinton while 43 percent voted for Trump. Now with fewer voters sticking with Clinton, a hypothetical re-do of 2016 voting would result in a 43-40 Trump edge.

Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon that the polls that had just come out were good because they show he continues to have his voters stand by him.

"New polls out today are very good considering that much of the media is FAKE and almost always negative. Would still beat Hillary in ... popular vote. ABC News/Washington Post Poll (wrong big on election) said almost all stand by their vote on me & 53% said strong leader," Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon.