Donald Trump is the least popular US president-elect in more than two decades

Donald Trump's approval rating has improved since he won the White House on November 8, but he is still the least popular US president-elect in more than two decades.

An average of recent polls calculated by the Real Clear Politics website shows that about 50 percent of Americans hold an unfavorable opinion of the Republican leader, against 45 percent who view him positively.

That is better than on Election Day, when 58 percent of voters expressed negative sentiments towards him.

But Trump still trails his two immediate predecessors, according to a CBS poll made public on Thursday.

More than one in three Americans believe he will be a poor president, compared to seven percent for Barack Obama in December 2008 and 14 percent for George W. Bush in December 2000.

Gallup, using data going back to Bill Clinton's election in 1992, found that Trump has hit a new low in terms of public approval of how he's handled the transition, with 48 percent giving him a thumbs down and the same percentage a thumbs up.

By comparison, three-quarters of Americans approved Obama's handling of the presidential transition, and two-thirds likewise thought Bill Clinton did a good job in the period between his election and inauguration.