JD Vance ‘most disliked VP’ in US history? New poll out

Vice President JD Vance’s approval ratings seem to be taking a dip. According to a new poll published by Real Clear Polling this week, the 40-year-old is the ‘most disliked VP’ in US history.

The former Ohio senator’s favorability is lower than that of his predecessor Kamala Harris after two months into office.

What does the poll say?

Vance’s current favourable-unfavourable rating is 41.7 percent to 44.8 percent, according to the Real Clear Polling poll. This shows a net unfavourable rating of -3.1 percentage points for President Donald Trump’s top official, as reported by The Mirror US.

The survey further shows that Vance’s favorability improved since his heated confrontation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with his favourable-unfavourable rating at 42.4 percent to 48.0 percent.

The poll comes weeks after President Donald Trump was asked if he sees Vance as his successor. “No, but is he very capable. I mean, I don’t think that you know, I think you have a lot of very capable people. So far, I think he is doing a fantastic job. It’s too early. We are just starting,” the Republican told Fox News.

On November 5, 2024 (Election Day), RCP’s final average had Kamala Harris at 48.7 percent favourable and 48.6 percent unfavourable, based on polls like NYT/Siena (October 20-23, 2024) showing her tied at 48 percent with Trump. Post-election, a FiveThirtyEight update (March 3, 2025) pegged her at 46.1 percent favourable and 48.1 percent unfavourable.

Speaking with right-wing podcaster Vince Coglianese, Vance made sharp remarks about Harris. “Well, I don’t have, you know, four shots of vodka before every meeting. That’s one way, I think, that Kamala really tried to bring herself into the role is, is these word salads. And I think that I would need the help of a lot of alcohol to answer a question the way that Kamala Harris answered,” he said.

Kamala Harris (2021-2025) started her tenure with favorability often above unfavorable in early 2021, peaking near 50%, though it later fell to a low of -16% (Real Clear Politics). Mike Pence (2017-2021) had a +5% net rating on Election Day 2016. Sarah Palin, the 2008 nominee, began with a +21% post-RNC but dropped to -2% by Election Day. Tim Kaine (2016 nominee) ended at -4%, while Dick Cheney (2001-2009) enjoyed over 60% favorability for his first 2.5 years (Gallup).