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Trump’s Approval Dips to Mid‑Term Lows as Issue Ratings Collapse

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  • President Donald Trump delivers remarks during the Treasury Department’s Trump Accounts Summit at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on January 28, 2026 in Washington, DC.
    President Donald Trump delivers remarks during the Treasury Department’s Trump Accounts Summit at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on January 28, 2026 in Washington, DC.
    Image: Newsweek
    President Donald Trump delivers remarks during the Treasury Department’s Trump Accounts Summit at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on January 28, 2026 in Washington, DC. Source Full size
  • US President Donald Trump speaks to the press in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 2, 2026.
    US President Donald Trump speaks to the press in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 2, 2026.
    Image: Newsweek
    US President Donald Trump speaks to the press in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 2, 2026. Source Full size
  • JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND – JANUARY 27: U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on January 27, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. President Trump is en route to Clive, Iowa for a rally with supporters where he is expected to talk about energy and the economy in his speech. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
    JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND – JANUARY 27: U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on January 27, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. President Trump is en route to Clive, Iowa for a rally with supporters where he is expected to talk about energy and the economy in his speech. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
    Image: Newsweek
    JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND – JANUARY 27: U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on January 27, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. President Trump is en route to Clive, Iowa for a rally with supporters where he is expected to talk about energy and the economy in his speech. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Source Full size
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  • Donald Trump speaks before signing executive orders in the Oval Office in the White House in Washington, DC, on January 30, 2026.
    Donald Trump speaks before signing executive orders in the Oval Office in the White House in Washington, DC, on January 30, 2026.
    Image: Newsweek
    Donald Trump speaks before signing executive orders in the Oval Office in the White House in Washington, DC, on January 30, 2026. Source Full size
  • US President Donald Trump speaks to the press in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 2, 2026.
    US President Donald Trump speaks to the press in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 2, 2026.
    Image: Newsweek
    US President Donald Trump speaks to the press in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 2, 2026. Source Full size
  • Donald Trump speaks before signing executive orders in the Oval Office in the White House in Washington, DC, on January 30, 2026.
    Donald Trump speaks before signing executive orders in the Oval Office in the White House in Washington, DC, on January 30, 2026.
    Image: Newsweek
    Donald Trump speaks before signing executive orders in the Oval Office in the White House in Washington, DC, on January 30, 2026. Source Full size
  • JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND – JANUARY 27: U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on January 27, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. President Trump is en route to Clive, Iowa for a rally with supporters where he is expected to talk about energy and the economy in his speech. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
    JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND – JANUARY 27: U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on January 27, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. President Trump is en route to Clive, Iowa for a rally with supporters where he is expected to talk about energy and the economy in his speech. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
    Image: Newsweek
    JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND – JANUARY 27: U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on January 27, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. President Trump is en route to Clive, Iowa for a rally with supporters where he is expected to talk about energy and the economy in his speech. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Source Full size
  • President Donald Trump delivers remarks during the Treasury Department’s Trump Accounts Summit at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on January 28, 2026 in Washington, DC.
    President Donald Trump delivers remarks during the Treasury Department’s Trump Accounts Summit at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on January 28, 2026 in Washington, DC.
    Image: Newsweek
    President Donald Trump delivers remarks during the Treasury Department’s Trump Accounts Summit at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on January 28, 2026 in Washington, DC. Source Full size
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    Image: AP
    Source Full size

Overall approval slides across multiple polls A Harvard‑CAPS/Harris poll conducted Jan 28‑29 2026 recorded Trump’s job approval at 45% down from 47% in December [1]. The Pew Research Center’s Jan 20‑26 survey reported a lower 37% approval and 61% disapproval, the president’s second‑term low [5]. A Fox News poll of Jan 23‑26 2026 showed national approval steady at 44% despite the downward trend in the other two surveys [6]. Together, the three polls illustrate a consistent erosion of overall support as the 2026 midterms approach.

Issue‑specific ratings hit historic lows The same Harvard‑CAPS/Harris poll found economy approval at 43% and foreign‑affairs approval at 42% in January [1]. Immigration approval fell to 46%, continuing a months‑long slide that began in early 2025 [1]. An AP‑NORC poll released Feb 2 reported only 38% of adults approving Trump’s immigration approach, down from 49% in March [3]. Across surveys, voters also view ICE tactics as “too aggressive,” with six‑in‑ten respondents in a New York Times poll sharing that view [3].

Republican base shows growing reservations Pew data indicate support for “all or most” Trump policies among Republicans dropped from 67% a year ago to 56% in Jan 2026 [3][4]. Fox poll respondents who voted for Trump in 2024 expressed 16% disapproval of his job performance, and on ten of twelve issues more than 20% disapproved [2]. The Washington Post‑Ipsos survey found 7% of Trump supporters regret their vote, rising to 19% among non‑White voters [2]. UMass Amherst tracking shows “very confident” Trump voters fell from 74% to 69% between April and August [2].

Urban approval shows a modest uptick amid national decline A Fox News‑commissioned poll reported Trump’s approval in cities rose to 40% from 34% in December, while disapproval fell to 60% from 66% [6]. The same poll kept national approval at 44%, indicating the urban gain has not shifted the overall picture [6]. Republican pollster Daron Shaw warned the president still faces “virtually unanimous” Democratic opposition, while the White House cited economic gains to explain the urban shift [6]. Trump dismissed the Fox survey as a “Polling SCAM” on Truth Social [6].

Sources

Videos (1)

Primary Data (6)

Gallup: Economy, Immigration, Abortion, Democracy Driving Voters

Published (6 tables/charts)

Gallup: Trump's Approval Rating Drops to 36%, New Second-Term Low

Published (6 tables/charts)

Pew: 2. Views of Trump’s policies and confidence in his ability to handle issues

Published (5 tables/charts)

Pew: Confidence in Trump Dips, and Fewer Now Say They Support His Policies and Plans

Published (6 tables/charts)

Pew: Confidence in Trump Dips, and Fewer Now Say They Support His Policies and Plans

Published (6 tables/charts)

Pew: Few Americans support Trump’s proposed takeover of Greenland

Published (1 tables/charts)

Timeline

Jan 2025 – Gallup tracks Trump’s approval at 47 %, his highest point of the year, before a steady decline begins later in the term [16].

July 2025 – Approval drops to 37 % as GOP lawmakers pass a sweeping bill extending 2017 tax cuts, boosting immigration enforcement and slashing Health‑and‑Human‑Services funding, sparking criticism from economists who link the slide to rising unemployment and inflation [16].

Aug‑Oct 2025 – A brief rebound lifts Trump’s approval to 40 % in August and 41 % in October, before the decline resumes in November [16].

Dec 3 2025 – Rasmussen Reports records a ‑11 % net approval (44 % approve, 55 % disapprove), the lowest net rating of his second term to date [24].

Dec 5‑8 2025 – The Economist/YouGov poll shows women’s approval at 38 %, a modest rise from early‑December lows, while overall approval sits at 41 % [20].

Dec 9 2025 – At a Pennsylvania rally, Trump declares that “consumer prices are falling tremendously” and that “making America affordable again is my top priority” as he launches the first of a planned series of economic‑focused rallies [1].

Dec 10‑18 2025 – RMG Research finds 50 % of registered voters approve of Trump’s job performance, his strongest showing in over a month, while Emerson College polls a slightly lower 41 % approval [17].

Dec 12‑15 2025 – A Fox News poll reports 44 % overall approval and 39 % approval of the economy, underscoring persistent skepticism about his economic message [17].

Dec 14 2025 – Quantus Insights shows suburban net approval plunge to ‑16 points (41 % approve, 57 % disapprove), with CUNY professor Heath Brown attributing the drop to “rising prices, school quality, water safety, and health‑care costs” [19].

Dec 15 2025 – Nate Silver notes a modest recovery as Trump’s net approval rises to ‑11 points (42.8 % approve, 54 % disapprove) after a November ‑15 point low [18].

Dec 18 2025 – In a prime‑time national address, Trump claims his administration has “fixed the economy” and attacks President Biden, while fact‑checkers label many of his statistics on falling prices and wages as inaccurate [4].

Dec 20 2025 – InsiderAdvantage records a +8.4 net approval (49.5 % approve, 41.1 % disapprove), the highest net rating since August, as voters remain uneasy about affordability despite the uptick [13].

Dec 21 2025 – AtlasIntel’s December poll shows a ‑20 net rating (39.3 % approve, 59.6 % disapprove), a slide from the previous month’s ‑15 and a warning sign ahead of the 2026 midterms [14].

Dec 22 2025 – Gallup reports Trump’s approval at 36 % versus 24 % for Democrats in Congress, a 12‑point gap that highlights partisan divides as the midterm cycle looms [12].

Dec 24 2025 – Rasmussen’s daily Presidential Approval Index falls to ‑10 on Dec 22, after a brief rebound earlier in the month, reflecting volatile public sentiment [11].

Dec 31 2025 – Year‑end trackers (NYT, Silver Bulletin, RealClearPolitics) place Trump’s approval at 42 % with 54 % disapproval, a net ‑11, while immigration remains a headline issue with over 2 million illegal departures reported by DHS [9].

Jan 8‑11 2026 – AP‑NORC finds Trump’s overall approval steady near 40 %, economy approval at 37 % (up from a December low of 31 %), and immigration approval slipping to 38 % from 49 % in March; the poll notes the recent death of activist Renee Good [28].

Jan 12‑15 2026 – In the same AP‑NORC survey, Trump repeats the claim “the Trump economic boom has officially begun,” a statement that poll respondents view skeptically [28].

Jan 16 2026 – A CNN/SSRS poll shows 58 % of Americans label Trump’s first year a failure, with the economy identified as the top concern and only 9 in 10 Republicans still approving his overall performance [3].

Jan 16 2026 – AP‑NORC reports that while 80 % of Republicans still approve of Trump’s job performance, his immigration approval among GOP voters falls from 88 % in March to 76 % [27].

Jan 20‑26 2026 – Pew Research finds support for “all or most” Trump policies among Republicans drops from 67 % a year earlier to 56 %, indicating growing intra‑party erosion [2].

Jan 23‑26 2026 – Fox News poll shows Trump’s overall approval at 44 %, while Pew’s January survey records a historic low 37 % approval, with 70 % of respondents saying the economy is in bad shape [7].

Jan 31 2026 – Fox News poll (Jan 23‑26) confirms approval at 44 %, and Pew’s Jan 20‑26 survey registers 37 % approval, the lowest for his second term, as voters prioritize the economy over foreign policy [7].

Feb 2 2026 – Post‑SNL sketch polls reveal growing discontent: 20 % of Republicans say the administration is “worse than expected,” and 16 % of 2024 Trump voters now disapprove of his job performance [2].

Feb 3 2026 – Harvard CAPS/Harris poll (Jan 28‑29) shows overall job approval at 45 %, with issue‑specific ratings hitting new lows—economy 43 %, foreign affairs 42 %—while 63 % of respondents still credit Trump for the current economy [6].

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