Trump Approval Rating Reportedly Declines Among Republicans—As Dems Have Midterm Advantage

Topline

More than half of voters said they are worse off financially since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term in the latest poll released Sunday that found 64% disapprove of his handling of inflation and the cost of living.

Timeline

Trump 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’ survey last month, 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.

Trump had a 38.2% approval rating and 58.8% disapproval rating, for a -20.6% net approval rating in Nate Silver’s poll tracker—a record low for his second term, following two surveys released Wednesday that logged record-low ratings for Trump.

His net approval has dropped from -16.4% on July 12.

Trump’s 33% approval rating in an AP-NORC poll released Thursday is eight points below where it was in July of his first term and is three points below Biden’s 36% approval rating in July 2022 (the AP-NORC poll of 1,165 U.S. adults was conducted July 23-27 and has a margin of error of 3.7).

Approval of his handling of the Iran war has declined six points since June, including from 71% to 61% among Republicans.

Less than half of Republicans, 48%, say the U.S. should continue military action in Iran, and only 23% of U.S. adults say it should continue.

Trump’s 32% approval rating in a Quinnipiac University poll is an all-time low for the group’s polling.

Voters mostly disapproved of Trump’s handling of key issues, according to the Quinnipiac poll, including his handling of the ongoing conflict with Iran (66% disapproval), foreign policy (62%), the economy (62%), trade (58%), and immigration (57%).

Respondents to the Quinnipiac poll broadly disapproved of the ongoing war in Iran—60% of respondents disapproved and only 34% approved of the conflict, the lowest since the pollster began asking that question in March.

However, Republicans still approve of Trump’s job as president, according to the poll, with 76% approving his job performance, down slightly from 85% recorded by the pollster in June.

The poll of 963 registered voters was taken July 23-27 and has a margin of error of 4.1.

A majority of respondents (65%) in a CNN poll said Trump’s policies hurt the economy, and another 67% said the Iran war was hurting the United States.

Trump’s renovations to Washington, D.C., including the planned White House ballroom and the Reflecting Pool upgrades, also received mixed results—88% of Democrats and 62% said they disapproved of the renovations, compared to 22% of Republicans—who primarily said they approved (44%) or did not mind (35%) the changes.

The poll also showed broad disapproval of Trump’s financial windfall while in office, after disclosures showed he made over $2 billion in 2025—most Democrats (85%) and independents (62%) disapproved, while Republicans were more split (20% disapproved, 15% approved, and 65% said it did not matter).

The poll of 1,225 U.S. adults was taken July 23-27 and has a margin of error of 3.2.

Trump had a 39% approval rating and 61% disapproval rating in a CBS News/YouGov poll of 2,193 U.S. adults taken July 21-24 (margin of error 2.7), as approval of the U.S. taking military action against Iran has declined from 44% in March to 39%.

A plurality, 37%, believe the Iran conflict will continue for months, 21% believe it will last years, 9% said days or weeks, and 33% said they’re not sure.

Trump’s 34% approval rating is unchanged from April, with 64% saying they disapprove of his job performance, according to a Pew Research Center survey of 3,554 U.S. adults conducted July 6-12 (margin of error 1.9).

The survey found Democrats have a six-point edge on the congressional midterm ballot, with 20% undecided.

The majority of voters say Trump is a factor in their midterm votes for Congress, with 42% saying they will be votes against Trump and 22% saying they will be votes for him.

Trump logged a 39% approval rating and 57% disapproval rating in an Emerson College poll of 1,100 likely U.S. voters taken July 19-20 (margin of error 2.9—Trump’s disapproval rating increased one point and his approval rating is unchanged over the past two months).

The poll also shows Democrats with an 11 percentage point advantage on the generic congressional ballot.

Trump had a 40% approval rating and 59% disapproval rating, a one-point decline in his net approval rating from April, and a 38%/60% approval/disapproval rating on the economy, for a net approval rating of -22, his worst marks on the economy of his political career in CNBC polling (the latest survey of 1,000 voters was conducted July 8-12 and has a margin of error of 3.1).

The survey found 61% said they are pessimistic about the state of the economy and outlook for the future, the highest percentage since December 2023.

Trump’s 37% approval rating and 61% disapproval rating is the same as it was in April, according to a Washington Post/Ipsos poll released Thursday, with approval ratings on the economy, immigration and the war with Iran all below 40% (the survey of 2,648 U.S. adults was taken July 8-13 and has a margin of error of 1.9).

Less than half, 48%, of Americans say the economy will improve in the next year, and 43% said they are worse off financially than they were when former President Joe Biden was in office.

Surprising Fact

Trump’s approval rating is similar to former President Joe Biden’s at this point in his term. Biden had a 44% approval rating in August 2022, according to Gallup.

Big Number

42%. That was Trump’s approval rating the week of Aug. 13-19, 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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