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Did the Trump administration have the highest-ever approval rate for Veterans Affairs at 92%?

By Tom Kertscher
NO

The highest proportion of veterans who expressed having trust in the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department was roughly 80%, once during President Donald Trump’s administration and once under President Joe Biden.

In quarterly customer experience surveys, done since 2016, the highest “trust” scores were 80.2% in 2021, under Trump; and 80.4% in 2024, under Biden.

The trust scores were lowest, at 55%, when the first survey was done during the first quarter after Trump took office, but rose under Trump.

Trump claimed at a May 1, 2024, campaign rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin, that “we had the highest approval rating in the history of the VA, 92%.”

In surveys about VA outpatient care, begun in 2017, the highest trust scores reached 90% under Trump and nearly 92% under Biden.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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