Why was Truman so unpopular?

In February 1952, Gallup polls placed President Harry S. Truman's approval mark at 22%, one of the lowest-ever ratings for an active American president, only matched by Richard Nixon in 1974. read more

Truman had struggled in opinion polls before—most notably before his comeback victory in the 1948 election—but his approval ratings suffered a steady downward decline from early 1949. By February 1952, military operations in Korea had reached a stalemate, with congressional Republicans hammering Truman for"botching" the war. read more

However, during the push back against the North Korean invasion, MacArthur went against express orders in several respects and invaded the North, thus instigating Chinese involvement. Truman removed MacArthur from command in Korea thus receiving a huge political backlash of public support for the decision. He decided not to even run for reelection. read more