WASHINGTON, DC — President Trump boasted today on Twitter about a recent poll from Morning Consult and Politico that found that he had a 45 percent approval rating. He posted a large graphic of the results below the words "Make America Great Again."

The same poll found that fewer than half of Americans approve of the president, also showed that a majority — 51 percent — actively disapprove of his job performance. But even these relatively weak numbers don't tell the whole story.



MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/64a93S07s7

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 8, 2017 Another recent poll from Pew Research Center found Trump's approval rate at only 32 percent — an exceptionally low number for a president still in his first year. Pew found that 63 percent of the American population disapproved of the president. Variation in polls is to be expected, so the difference in Pew and Morning Consult's results doesn't necessarily mean either one is lying or making a mistake. With any survey question, some researchers will encounter outlying data that don't match other findings.

When it comes to national polling of well-known figures, statisticians often rely on aggregation of multiple different polls. Averages of poll results provide a more accurate view of public opinion. FiveThirtyEight, a website that relies heavily on polling and statistical data, keeps a running database of different polls of Trump's approval. It shows that the average of recent polls places Trump's approval rating at 37.2 percent, with 56.4 percent disapproving. Another polling aggregator, RealClearPolitics, finds similar results with 38.7 percent approving and 56.4 disapproving of Trump.

It's not a surprise that Trump would pick the most favorable recent polling data to discuss — all politicians prefer to highlight their most impressive data points.

Many may be surprised, however, to find the president — or whoever is in charge of his Twitter account at the moment — bringing up his approval rating when even the best possible poll shows that most Americans aren't happy with him.