Trump boasts that his approval ratings may be as high as around 50%

Andrew Harnik/AP

Donald Trump.

• President Donald Trump seemed to brag in a tweet that his approval rating may be as high as 50%.
• Trump cited a poll, which is often favorable to him, that put his approval rating at 46%.
• Other polling firms put his approval lower, in the high 30s. Other presidents have enjoyed better approval at similar times in their presidency.

Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning about a new poll from Rasmussen, the polling company often most favorable to the president, that found he had 46% approval in his job performance from the US public.

Trump also used the occasion to attack the media, the majority of polling institutions, and to speculate that his actual approval could be even higher.

"One of the most accurate polls last time around. But #FakeNews likes to say we're in the 30's. They are wrong. Some people think numbers could be in the 50's. Together, WE will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" tweeted Trump with an accompanying graphic of his picture and the 46% statistic credited to Rasmussen.

Several prominent media outlets peg Trump's approval rating around the high 30s. His ratings have been lower than other presidents' at similar times in their terms.

But Trump often dismisses mainstream media companies as "fake news" and indeed proved many polling firms and media outlets wrong with his stunning 2016 election victory.

On November 14, 2009, during former President Barack Obama's term, RealClearPolitics gives his averaged approval rating at 52.1%.

The Rasmussen poll cited by Trump surveyed 1,500 likely voters and had a margin of error of 2.5%.