Forbes
Trump’s Approval Rating On The Economy Hits All-Time Low In 2 Polls This Week
Topline
President Donald Trump’s approval rating on the economy dipped to 26%—another all-time low—in a new poll this week that found 65% blame Trump for persistently high cost-of-living.
Timeline
Oct. 1Trump had a 26% approval rating on the economy in an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs research poll of 2,140 U.S. adults taken Sept. 24-28 (margin of error 2.9).
The survey also found just 17% approve of his handling of the cost of living, and 65% blame Trump for persistently high costs.
Trump logged an overall job approval rating of 31% and a 38% disapproval rating.
Sept. 29Trump had a 34% approval rating and 61% disapproval rating in the latest Quinnipiac poll of 1,032 registered voters surveyed Sept. 24-27 (margin of error 3.
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His 31% approval rating on the economy is an all-time low for both terms, and his 28% approval rating on his handling of the situation in Iran ties his all-time low reached in a July 29 Quinnipiac poll.
Sept. 29Trump’s 42% approval rating in a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll matches his second-term low reached in April and July this year and is a two-point decline from the groups’ last poll in August (the latest survey of 2,200 registered voters was conducted Sept. 26-28 and has a margin of error of 2.1).
Sept. 24Trump’s 39% approval rating is a one-point decline from last month, and his disapproval rating has increased two points, to 58%, in the latest Emerson College poll of 1,000 likely voters taken Sept. 21-22 (margin of error 3).
Trump’s approval rating initially hit a low of 39% in Emerson polling in May, then climbed to 40% in August.
The poll also found 53% of respondents said they would vote for the Democratic congressional candidate in their district in midterms, while 42% said they would vote for the Republican.
Sept. 23Trump’s 33% approval rating is a new low point for either of his terms, according to CNN/SSRS polling, and is three points below what it was at this point during his first term in 2018, while 67% disapprove of his job performance, compared to 58% in September 2018 (the latest poll of 1,206 U.S. adults was taken Sept. 16-17 and has a margin of error 3.
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Trump’s approval rating on the economy is 22 points below what it was in September 2018, and Americans’ view of the economy generally is 41 points worse.
Sept. 23Trump had a 39% approval rating and 53% disapproval rating in the latest PBS/NPR/Marist poll, an improvement from his 38%/59% rating in June (the poll of 1,280 registered voters was taken Sept. 14-15 and has a margin of error of 3.
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The poll found Democrats have a 12-point advantage in the race for Congress, with 53% saying they would vote for the Democratic House candidate in their district, compared to 41% who said they would vote for the Republican.
Sept. 21Trump’s approval rating reached a new low point, 32%, across both of his terms in another poll, from Reuters/Ipsos, that found approval of his job performance among Republicans has declined from 86% in January to 73% (the survey of 1,277 adults was conducted Sept. 17-20 and has a margin of error of 2.
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Sept. 6Trump’s 33% approval rating in a Financial Times/Focaldata poll is his lowest since the groups began asking the question in May and is down three points from last month (the survey of 1,914 registered voters was conducted Aug. 28-Sept. 1 and has a margin of error of 2.6).
The poll found his support among Republican voters has dipped two points, to 72%, a low point.
Negative views of Trump’s handling of the economy appear to be continuing to drive down his poll numbers—-with 57% of voters saying they are financially worse off under Trump, compared to 53% last month.
Meanwhile, a plurality of voters, 46%, said Trump is making it harder for Republicans to win in November, and a plurality, 43%, also said his endorsement of a candidate would make them less likely to vote for that candidate.
Sept. 6Trump’s 36% approval rating in the latest NBC News survey is one point below what it was in April, a record low in the groups’ polling during Trump’s second term.
The poll also found a significant decline in his support among his base—41% of Republicans strongly approve of Trump’s job performance, down from 52% in the spring, and 62% of self-identified MAGA Republicans support him, down from 71% in the spring (the online survey of 7,105 adults was taken Aug. 20-Sept. 1 and has a margin of error of 3.3).
The share of Republicans who say they strongly approve of Trump’s handling of the Iran war has also dropped 18 points, to 30%, and has declined 21 points among MAGA Republicans, to 43%.
Sept. 2Trump’s approval rating increased from 42% in July to 44% in a Harvard CAPS/Harris survey released Wednesday, while 52% of respondents disapprove of his job performance (the poll of 2,100 registered voters was taken Aug. 28-30 and has a margin of error of 2.1).
Mood has improved slightly since July—37% said the country is on the right track, compared to 35% in July, and 52% said it’s on the wrong track, down from 55% in July, while the share of voters who said the economy is strong is up two percentage points and the share who said it’s weak is down two points.
Still, a plurality of voters, 47%, said their financial situation is getting worse, a one percentage point increase from July, 32% said it’s getting better (down two points from July) and 21% said it’s the same.
The poll found Democrats have a slight advantage in the midterms, with 51% saying they’d likely vote for a Democrat if their congressional election were held today, compared to 49% who’d prefer a Republican, while 54% of independents said they plan to vote for Democrats, compared to 46% who leaned Republican.
Sept. 2Trump’s 33% approval rating—his lowest ever in Reuters/Ipsos polling—is unchanged from the past two weeks in the groups’ weekly survey of 1,167 U.S. adults taken Aug. 28-31 (margin of error of 2.9).
The poll reaffirmed the cost of living as the most important issue in the upcoming midterms, with a plurality (47%) saying it’s their top concern, while Trump continues to log poor ratings on his handling of the economy—71% disapproval/22% approval.
Aug. 31Trump’s approval rating has decreased one point, to 32%, since March, and his disapproval rating has increased two points, to 64%, according to a University of Massachusetts Amherst poll of 1,000 respondents taken Aug. 21-26 (margin of error 3.5).
Trump’s approval rating among Republicans has declined from 89% to 75% since April 2025, and his approval rating among 2024 Trump voters is down 10 points.
Just 25% of respondents said he is handling the war in Iran well, while 68% said he’s not handling it well.
Aug. 24Trump’s approval rating held at 33% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll, unchanged from the groups’ survey released Aug. 17, while his disapproval rating increased one point, to 65% (the survey of 1,215 adults was conducted Aug. 21-24 and has a margin of error of 3).
Just 31% support U.S. military action in Iran, down from 34% earlier this month and 37% in March.
The share of Americans who believe the Iran war will go on “for an extended period of time” increased to 83% from 80% earlier this month.
Aug. 17Trump’s approval rating dipped to 33%, and his disapproval rating went up one point from earlier in August, to 64%, in the latest Reuters/Ipsos survey of 1,166 U.S. adults taken Aug. 14-17 (margin of error 3).
The poll found 80% of Americans, including 87% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans, think U.S. involvement in Iran “will go on for an extended period of time,” while just 16% said it would likely end in a few weeks.
The survey also found that for the first time in about a decade, more voters, 38%, prefer Democrats to handle the economy versus Republicans (35%).
Aug. 16Trump had a 35% approval rating and 55% disapproval rating in a Financial Times/Focaldata poll of 1,913 registered voters conducted Aug. 7-10 (margin of error 2.9).
Trump’s net approval rating among Republicans has dropped eight points since the groups’ July survey, the Financial Times reported.
The poll comes as inflation cooled in July from June, but at 3.4%, it’s still higher than when Trump took office as the war with Iran has driven up fuel costs and disrupted the economy.
Meanwhile, Democrats have a five percentage-point advantage over Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections, according to the survey.
Surprising Fact
Trump’s approval rating is similar to former President Joe Biden’s at this point in his term. Biden had a 42% approval rating in August 2022, according to Gallup.
Big Number
40%. That was Trump’s approval rating the week of Sept. 17-23, 2018, during his first term, according to Gallup.
Key Background
Trump began his second term with a 52% approval rating and 43% disapproval rating, according to The New York Times’ polling average. He experienced a sharp drop in support with the announcement of his so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs in April last year, and again since the start of the Iran war at the end of February. Voters’ economic concerns have remained high throughout Trump’s second term, and the Iran war has coincided with an increase in negative views of the economy as gas prices have skyrocketed since the start of the conflict. Trump’s sagging approval rating comes as Democrats are favored to regain control of the House, according to Cook Political Report, and pick up some seats in the Republican-dominated Senate
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