FORIMMEDIATERELEASE
AMERICADISUNITED:PRESIDENTIALREPTRAKREVEALSOBAMA’SREPUTATIONIS
WEAK,TRUMP’SISPOOR,ANDBOTHPOLITICALPARTIESAREPOLARIZING
AheadoftheinaugurationAmericaisdivided:thereputationofthePresidentandPresident-electis
compromised,theDemocraticandRepublicanPartyarereputationallychallenged,Trumphasahilltoclimb.
BOSTON, MASS. — (19January, 2017) – BuildingonitsongoingUSPresidentialElectionRepTrak®study,
ReputationInstitute(RI)todayreleaseditslatestfindingsontheperceptionoftheincomingandoutgoing
Presidents, as well as the two major political parties. Using RI’s proprietary stakeholder measurement
framework, the study explores not only how the US general public views “Brand Obama” and “Brand
Trump,”butalsowhytheyfeelthatwayandwherethePresident-electandPartiesshouldfocustoimprove
theirstandingintheeyesoftheirconstituents.
KeyFindings
On the eve of the Presidential inauguration, President Obama will leave the White House with rising
approvalbutstillaweakoverallreputationandanuncertainlegacy.Bycontrast,President-electTrumpwill
enter the White House with a poor reputation, while conjuring-up mixed feelings of either euphoria or
trepidation.ItallsuggeststhatinthewakeofahighlyvitriolicPresidentialCampaignanddramaticelection
outcome,America’siscompletelydividedacrossthepoliticallandscape–withthereputationofboththe
Republican and Democratic Party languishing in the weak poor to weak range. While Republicans and
Democrats hold their own parties in high repute, their general sentiment about the opposing party
translatesintodislikeifnotoutrightdisdain.
“We’reseeingaDividedStateofAmericawhenitcomestohowpolarizedtheUSgeneralpublicisrelative
to their view of the old vs. new President -- and their respective political parties,” said Stephen HahnGriffiths,VicePresidentandManagingDirectorofReputationInstitute,USandCanada.
SinceMarchof2016,ReputationInstitutehasmeasuredthereputationofthePresidentialcandidatesand
politicalpartiesthroughRepTrak®.BasedonanewstudywavefieldedbetweenJanuary3-9,thelatestdata
alsoindicatesthattheDemocraticPartyhasstruggledtorecoverfromatoughelectionloss.Thereputation
oftheDemocraticpartyisweakenedbyalackofidentity,unclearpositiononpolicies,andlackofuniversal
appealbeyonditscoresupporters.TheRepublicanPartyisalsochallengedbyapoorreputation.
TheOpportunityforTrump
President-electTrump’sreputationhasmarginallyimprovedfollowingtheelection,ashehasincreasedthe
levels of acceptance and support within his own party. Trump’s reputation is somewhat defined by his
association with promises of Economic Growth and National Security. However, it would seem that a
stronger link to policies associated with Education and Innovation can provide him with an untapped
opportunitytosignificantlyimprovehisperceptions.Buthis“twitterholic”tendencieshavedetractedfrom
apositiveviewofhisexpressivenessandsincerityincommunication.Furthermore,theoverallviewofhis
personaandperceptionsofBrandTrumpareviewedasoverlyaggressive,arrogant,ambitious,anddaring
—whichaccordingtothebeholderiseitherhurtinghimoringratiatinghimwithdifferentsegmentsofthe
general public. In particular, women attribute Trump with an especially poor reputation, although men
viewhimslightlymorefavorably.
SaysHahn-Griffiths,“TrumpisatriskofbecomingaPresidentialparadox,giventhathisactionsand
demeanorarebothanamplifieranddetractorofhisreputation.”
KeytoTrump’ssuccessisthepotentialtouniteallAmericansbehindacommonbeliefaboutabetter
futureforeveryone.ButaccordingtotherecentRepTrak®study,thedatashowsthattoearnastronger
reputationTrumpcan’tjustclaimhe’sa“uniter”throughincessantcommunications.Rather,Trumpneeds
totakestepstoearnabetterreputationthroughhiscompassion,effectivepolicies,authenticaction,and
consistentdeliveryonhispromises.
“AsournextPresident,Trump’sfutureactionswillspeaklouderthanhiswordsindefininghisreputation,”
sumsupHahn-Griffiths.
ThePresidentialRepTrak®Study
The 2016 Presidential Election RepTrak® study evaluates the reputationofcandidates andpolitical
partiesamongtheUS general public, asdefinedbytheirperceptionsanddeepsenseofemotional
connection.Themeasureofreputationisunderscoredbyseven dimensionsincorporatingperceptionsof:
economic growth, national security, education and innovation, global relations, health and wellness,
social investment and executive leadership. Thesecombinedscores are used to develop the candidates’
andpoliticalparty RepTrak® Pulse score, which demonstratesthenormativemeasureofreputation
among those surveyed.
ThePresidential ElectionRepTrak® study is basedon aproprietarymethodologythat is a t the
foundation of howReputation Instituteglobally measurestheperceptionsof companies,categories,
countries,and citiesamongthegeneralpublic.OtherReputationInstitutestudiesincludetheGlobal
RepTrak®100, Country RepTrak® and City RepTrak®studies.
Towatchavideosummaryofthestudyfindingsanddownloadthereport,pleasevisit:
https://www.reputationinstitute.com/presidential-research
About Reputation Institute
Foundedin1997,ReputationInstitute(RI)istheworld’sleadingproviderofstakeholdermeasurement,
membershipandmanagementservices,workingwith400ofthetopGlobal1000companies.Serving
corporatecommunicationsandmarketingexecutivesandtheirteams,RIdeliversourdata,insightsand
bestpracticesthroughhands-onconsulting,subscriptionservicesandRLNeventsandexecutivetraining.
RI’smostprominentmanagementtoolistheRepTrak®modelforanalyzingthereputationsofcompanies
andinstitutions—bestknownviatheGlobalRepTrak®100,theworld’slargestandmostcomprehensive
studyofcorporatereputations,aswellasCountryRepTrak®andCityRepTrak®studiesthatlookat
reputationacrossorganizationswithinagivengeography.
Learn more at: http://www.reputationinstitute.com/
Furtherinformation ContactReputationInstitute
+16177580955
[email protected]
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