Jake Paul approval ratings show how Americans really feel about YouTuber as Donald Trump endorses him for public office

YouGov ratings have revealed how Americans truly feel about Jake Paul, after Donald Trump backed him for office.

While the YouTuber-turned-boxer has given no indication of running for office, the current President reckons he's fit for politics.

During a rally in Kentucky on Wednesday (March 11), Trump got Paul on stage as the POTUS proclaimed: "I’m going to make a prediction that you will be, in the not-too-distant future, running for political office. You have my complete and total endorsement.”

Paul responded: "What Mr. Trump has taught me is courage. We never back down from a fight, even if they’re much bigger than you, much, much bigger than you."

He continued: "I feel all the local Kentuckians feel the same way. You guys have that fight. You guys have that swag.”

But do US citizens really want Paul as their future leader? YouGov data appears to suggest otherwise.

Trump was keen to endorse Paul (Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)

Before we get onto that, though, a new NBC News poll shows Trump is more popular with registered voters than both major political parties and several of the leading names being talked about for the 2028 presidential race.

In the poll, 41 percent of Americans said they view Trump positively, while 53 percent said they view him negatively.

Although that means more people see him unfavorably overall, his ratings are still better than those of Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former Vice President Kamala Harris, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Meanwhile, polls from YouGov show how popular both Paul and Trump are with the general US public.

Trump ranked on top in a recent NBC News poll (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Paul's popularity tracker shows that awareness of him has grown steadily since 2020, reaching about 69 percent of adults by early 2026.

The share of people who like him has fluctuated since 2020, but overall stayed relatively low, around 18.7 percent at the latest point.

The share who dislike him has risen over time to about 33.5 percent, showing more people view him unfavorably than favorably.

Meanwhile, Trump's results show he remains extremely well known, with about 97.5 percent of adults aware of him.

(YouGov)

The percentage of those who like him is higher than Jake Paul’s, at around 33 percent, but not a majority.

A majority dislike Trump, however, at around 54.6% of respondents.

While a majority of Americans dislike Trump, then, one-third dislike Paul.

So even though Trump is considered highly controversial, he has a committed support base, while Paul’s positive support is much smaller.

(YouGov)

Essentially, according to the data, Trump is far more famous, far more polarizing, and far more strongly disliked than Paul — but also has a much larger base of supporters.

Paul is less famous, less loved, less hated, but still more disliked than liked.

So it's not sounding all too positive for Paul, after all...