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Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

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.

Sources

Google Docs: Terrence Hayes VA email 5/8/24

Rev.com: Donald Trump rally transcript

VA News: Veteran trust in VA reaches all-time high

VA News: Trust in VA among Veteran patients rises to 91.8%, up 6% since 2018

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

by Tom Kertscher / Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Watch
May 13, 2024

<h1>Did the Trump administration have the highest-ever approval rate for Veterans Affairs at 92%?</h1>
<p class="byline">by Tom Kertscher / Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Watch <br />May 13, 2024</p>

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<p><em><em><a href="https://www.wisconsinwatch.org/">Wisconsin Watch</a></em> partners with&nbsp;<a href="https://gigafact.org/">Gigafact</a>&nbsp;to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. <a href="https://wisconsinwatch.org/2023/05/how-wisconsin-watch-checks-claims-for-its-gigafact-fact-briefs/">Read our methodology</a> to learn how we check claims.</em></p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">No.</h2>
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<p>The highest proportion of veterans who expressed having trust in the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department was roughly&nbsp;80%, once during President Donald Trump’s administration and once under President Joe Biden.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>The trust scores were lowest, at&nbsp;55%, when the first survey was done during the first quarter after Trump took office, but rose under Trump.</p>
<p>Trump&nbsp;claimed&nbsp;at a May 1, 2024, campaign rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin, that “we had the highest approval rating in the history of the VA, 92%.”</p>
<p>In surveys about VA outpatient care, begun in 2017, the highest trust scores reached 90% under Trump and nearly 92% under Biden.</p>
<p><em>This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as <a href="https://www.rev.com/transcript-editor/shared/slIweEUXlojmb24NRTdgHk_yqcdxKOMUKUQ381yMC5NRro3cme5okRYBJasDztPNZ2GwkvsQ-_dqNsZDWkWBIvqKsBs?loadFrom=PastedDeeplink&amp;ts=2194.47" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">this one</a>.</em></p>
<p><strong>Sources</strong></p>
<p>Google Docs: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uZhRXd00WnqqM2QASlnTsNOKUOFy-9JUT5i16RsbAao/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Terrence Hayes VA email 5/8/24</a></p>
<p>Rev.com: <a href="https://archive.is/AslGx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Donald Trump rally transcript</a></p>
<p>VA News: <a href="https://news.va.gov/press-room/veteran-trust-in-va-reaches-all-time-high/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Veteran trust in VA reaches all-time high</a></p>
<p>VA News: <a href="https://news.va.gov/press-room/trust-in-va-among-veteran-patients-rises-to-91-8/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Trust in VA among Veteran patients rises to 91.8%, up 6% since 2018</a></p>
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<p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://wisconsinwatch.org/2024/05/trump-veterans-affairs-wisconsin-waukesha-biden-trust-fact-brief/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://wisconsinwatch.org&quot;&gt;Wisconsin Watch&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cropped-WCIJ_IconOnly_FullColor_RGB-1.png?fit=150%2C150&amp;amp;quality=100&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p>
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Did the Trump administration have the highest-ever approval rate for Veterans Affairs at 92%?

No.

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