President Donald Trump‘s approval rating with Medicaid recipients has dropped a staggering 16 points since January, a new poll from Morning Consult shows on Thursday.
Why It Matters
The shift occurred as Republicans advanced major cuts to Medicaid in the party’s signature budget legislation, a bill the president dubbed “the big, beautiful bill.”
Medicaid covers more than 71 million low-income Americans and serves as a cornerstone of health coverage for vulnerable populations.
Recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reached an agreement that provided U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) access to certain Medicaid user data, a move that raised privacy and access-to-care concerns among advocates and some officials. Critics warned that such measures could deter eligible patients from seeking care.
What To Know
In the poll, the president’s approval rating with the group is 36 percent, a drop from 52 percent during the president’s first week in office. Trump’s disapproval mark is 55 percent, soaring from 34 percent during the same time frame.
Morning Consult conducts the surveys weekly among 14,695 U.S. adults, including 3,134 Medicaid recipients. The poll has a margin of error of 1 percent to 2 percent.
The survey noted that “The biggest political question facing the Republican Party ahead of the next couple of election cycles is whether it can consolidate gains made in recent years among lower-income Americans. In the wake of those Medicaid cuts, that sure looks like a very steep climb,” Cameron Easley, Morning Consult’s head of U.S. Political Analysis, wrote.
The president’s overall approval rating with U.S. adults in the poll is 44 percent compared to a 50 percent disapproval rating.
What People Are Saying
Political analyst Craig Agranoff told Newsweek via text message on Thursday: “The notable decline in his approval rating among Medicaid recipients, signals growing discontent within a key demographic reliant on public health programs. This drop, sharper than among the general public, appears tied to Republican led efforts to cut Medicaid funding through legislation like the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which accelerated the slide when proposed in March and enacted in July.
“It’s particularly concerning for the GOP, as it erodes support even among Republican and independent Medicaid users, potentially complicating efforts to maintain gains with working class voters ahead of midterms. If unaddressed, this could highlight vulnerabilities in Trump’s coalition where policy impacts clash with economic promises.”
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont posted to X on Wednesday: “Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ is a direct attack on the 1 in 3 Americans with disabilities who rely on Medicaid for their health care. It cannot stand. We must work together until every American with a disability has the freedom, opportunity and respect that they deserve.”
Trump wrote on Truth Social in May: “Republicans MUST UNITE behind, ‘THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!’ Not only does it cut Taxes for ALL Americans, but it will kick millions of Illegal Aliens off of Medicaid to PROTECT it for those who are the ones in real need. The Country will suffer greatly without this Legislation, with their Taxes going up 65%. It will be blamed on the Democrats, but that doesn’t help our Voters. We don’t need ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE! It is time to fix the MESS that Biden and the Democrats gave us. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
What Happens Next
The president’s approval rating will continue to be tracked by numerous outlets and pollsters leading up to the 2026 midterm election season.
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