Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are among the most popular political figures at the moment.
That’s according to the latest Harvard CAPS/Harris poll, released Monday, which gave both Kennedy and Rubio a plus-3% net favorability rating. Kennedy was rated very favorable by 18% of respondents, followed by 25% favorable, 14% unfavorable and 26% very unfavorable. Rubio came in at 14% very favorable, 20% favorable, 13% unfavorable and 18% very unfavorable.
The only other politicians on the list who received positive net favorability ratings were Vice President J.D. Vance and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, both at plus-1%. Vance was rated very favorable by 20%, favorable by 20%, unfavorable by 12% and very unfavorable by 28%. Newsom’s numbers were 14% very favorable, 20% favorable, 10% unfavorable and 23% very unfavorable.
As for the least popular political figures? Russian President Vladimir Putin had a minus-53% net favorability rating, with 5% very favorable, 8% favorable, 17% unfavorable and 49% very unfavorable. And Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro scored a minus-20% net favorability, receiving marks of 4% very favorable, 7% favorable, 9% unfavorable and 22% very unfavorable.
President Donald Trump received a minus-3% net favorability rating, with 26% of respondents rating Trump very favorable, 20% favorable, 11% unfavorable and 38% very unfavorable. But Trump’s overall approval rating of 47% was up three points from its low for the year of 44% in November.
The poll found that the national outlook rebounded overall, with 39% saying the country is on the right track, compared with 35% who said that in November. Those saying the nation is on the wrong track dipped from 54% in November to 52%.
Trump’s approval ratings on individual issues ticked up across the board. He scored the highest approval on crime (51%), restoring values (50%) and immigration (49%). The lowest approval ratings were on the economy (44%), tariffs (42%) and inflation (40%).
“This poll is a clear bounce back from the government shutdown when attitudes of the American public were really going off of a cliff,” Mark Penn, co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll and Stagwell chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “But the concern for inflation — and what’s perceived as the administration’s failure to deal with it — is the dominant thing weighing down the administration.”
The poll surveyed 2,204 registered voters in the United States and was conducted online from Dec. 2-4. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.99 percentage points.