All but three major polls of President Donald Trump‘s approval rating released over the past week show a majority of Americans disapproving of his job performance.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Trump’s approval rating, a key gauge of how Americans feel about his presidency, has steadily declined since his return to office earlier this year amid growing dissatisfaction numbers over his handling of the economy, tariffs and immigration.
His approval rating could have key implications for the Republican Party as a whole ahead of this year’s New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races, as well as the 2026 midterm elections, where the GOP is hoping to retain control of both branches of Congress.
While Republicans are hoping to thwart losses next November, history shows the party in the White House typically loses seats during the midterms. During Trump’s first White House term, Democrats picked up 47 seats in the House in the midterms.
What To Know
Only two polls major polls released since August 17 showed Trump with a positive approval rating—while one poll showed his approval and disapproval tied. The rest have shown him with a negative approval rating.
Trump’s best poll was an Insider Advantage survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted from August 15 to August 17. It showed that 54 percent of respondents approved of Trump’s job performance, while 44 percent disapproved of him.
The worst poll for Trump was conducted by American Research Group (ARG) from August 17 to August 20 among 1,100 voters. It showed 59 percent of respondents disapproving of the president, compared to 38 percent who approved of him.
This chart shows how Trump’s approval rating fared in major polls released over the past week.
Trump’s approval rating has still been stronger in comparison to his first term in office. RealClearPolitics’ aggregate showed that 45.8 percent of Americans approve of and 50.9 percent disapprove of him in recent polling.
On August 23, 2017, during his first White House term, their aggregate showed that 55.7 percent of Americans disapproved of him, while 38.2 percent approved.
What People Are Saying
CNN data analyst Harry Enten said in an August 13 post to X: “Trump’s inflation numbers are an abject disaster. No way the GOP keeps the House, if this data holds. Trump’s net approval is -25 pt. He led Harris by 9 pt on inflation in 2024. Vs. the GOP at-large, Dems lead by 1 pt on inflation. Dems trailed by 13 going into 2022 midterms.
Nate Silver wrote in an August 25 update to Substack: “But is Trump still more popular than himself during his first term? Also yes. Trump’s net approval rating at this point eight years ago was -20.0, 11.7 points lower than it is today.”
Trump wrote to Truth Social in April on pollsters: “These people should be investigated for ELECTION FRAUD, and add in the FoxNews Pollster while you’re at it. They are Negative Criminals who apologize to their subscribers and readers after I WIN ELECTIONS BIG, much bigger than their polls showed I would win, loose a lot of credibility, and then go on cheating and lying for the next cycle, only worse. They suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome, and there is nothing that anyone, or anything, can do about it.”
What Happens Next
Trump’s approval will continue being monitored a barometer of whether Americans support his policies or not. Issues like his handling of inflation and the economy could be key to how his approval changes over the coming months.
If his approval ratings continue to be under water, Democrats will hope to seize on that and ride a Blue Wave back into control of Congress.
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