On May 13, President Trump’s net approval rating plunged to a new low of -18.9 during his second term, marking a significant decline as recorded by Nate Silver’s Silver Bulletin polling average. This drop follows a series of surveys illustrating an increasingly negative perception among Americans regarding Trump’s job performance.
Currently, Trump’s disapproval rating stands at 58.1%, while his approval rating is at 38.5%. This shift reflects a growing dissatisfaction that has been building over recent months.
Just a few days earlier, on May 11, a Reuters/Ipsos poll indicated a slight uptick in Trump’s approval. The rating rose by two percentage points to 36%, up from the record low of 34% observed at the end of April. However, 63% of those surveyed still expressed disapproval of Trump’s performance. This poll, which surveyed 1,254 U.S. adults between May 8-11, has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
Since the U.S. and Israel’s military action against Iran on February 28, Trump’s approval ratings have struggled to surpass 36%, having previously hovered around 40% since last summer. The conflict with Iran has cast a shadow not only over Trump’s presidency but also over the Republican Party’s image.
Public sentiment reveals that 66% of respondents, including 30% of Republicans and 73% of independents, believe Trump has failed to articulate clear objectives for the war with Iran. This lack of clarity has contributed to broader discontent.
Furthermore, the war’s ramifications are evident in the economic sphere, with three-quarters of respondents, including half of those identifying as Republicans, attributing blame to Trump’s administration for the soaring gas prices, which have surged by 50% since the conflict began. Additionally, 65% of those surveyed hold Republicans more accountable for the rising gas prices compared to Democrats, and 80% anticipate further increases.
Fifty-three percent of respondents to a Financial Times poll have an unfavorable view of Trump, compared to 41% who have a favorable view, while 51% disapprove of his handling of jobs and the economy (the poll of 3,167 registered voters was conducted May 1-5 and has a 2.1-point margin of error).
Trump’s disapproval rating has increased two points, to 59%, since March and five points since December in the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist survey and his approval rating has dropped one point, to 37%, from March and December (the latest survey of 1,322 U.S. adults was conducted April 27-30 and has a 3.1-point margin of error).
His approval rating is a record low in the groups’ monthly polling during Trump’s second term.
More Americans—including Republicans—disapprove of Trump’s handling of the Iran war and the economy since March.
His disapproval rating on Iran has increased from 54% in March to 60% among all poll respondents and to 22%, from 15%, among Republicans.
Sixty-one percent of Americans and 23% of Republicans disapprove of his handling of the economy, up from 58% and 17% in March, respectively.
Trump had a 41% approval rating and 55% disapproval rating in a Forbes/HarrisX poll that found the majority disapprove of his handling of inflation, the economy and tariffs and trade (the poll of 2,512 U.S. adults has a margin of error of 1.95).
Only 37% of American adults approved of Trump’s job performance in a new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll conducted between April 24-28 (a survey of 2,560 adults with a 2 percentage point margin of error), while his disapproval rating reached a new high at 62%.
The poll found significant disapproval rates for key issues leading up to the midterm elections in November—76% of respondents disapproved of his handling of the cost of living in the U.S., 72% disapproved of his handling of inflation and 66% disapproved of the war with Iran—days after the same pollsters found 61% of adults called the war a “mistake.”
The poll also shows Democrats maintaining their strongest advantage in the pollsters’ surveys so far for retaking the House, with 49% of respondents saying they would vote for Democratic candidates versus 44% who said they would vote for Republicans—up from a two-point advantage held in February.
Trump’s approval rating hit a record low of 34% in Pew Research Center polling, at least the third poll this week to show his poll numbers are at an all-time low for his second term (the survey of 5,103 voters was conducted April 20-26 and has a margin of error of 1.6).
It’s not just Democrats who disapprove of Trump—he is losing support among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, with 68% approving of the way he is handling his job, down from 73% in January.
Trump’s approval rating hit a new record low in Reuters/Ipsos polling, sinking to 34%, down two points from the groups’ mid-April poll (the survey of 1,629 U.S. adults was conducted April 24-27 and has a margin of error of 2.9).
Approval of Trump’s handling of cost-of-living declined two points from the previous poll, to 22%, as gas prices have spiked since the start of the Iran war at the end of February, reaching a four-year high on Thursday at $4.30 a gallon.
Trump’s approval rating dipped two points from March, to 40%, and his disapproval rating increased five points, to 56%, according to the latest Emerson College survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted April 24-26 (the poll has a margin of error of 3).
The survey is the latest to show Trump has failed to appease voters’ economic concerns, with his disapproval rating on the economy increasing seven points, to 56%, since this time last year, though his approval rating has improved by one point, to 38%.
Trump’s approval rating with Hispanic voters has swung dramatically, with 70% disapproving and 29% approving now, compared to a 44% disapproval and 41% approval rating at this time last year.
Trump’s 42% approval rating is his lowest in the past year and down one point from March, according to an April Harvard CAPS/HarrisX poll, which found support for his actions in Iran is growing, despite concern across both parties about rising gas prices (the online survey of 2,745 registered voters was taken April 23-26 and has a margin of error of 2).
Eight-five percent of voters are concerned that higher gas prices will lead to an increase in the cost of living, and just over half (52%) of voters say the economy is worse under Trump than it was under President Joe Biden.
Contrary to most other polls, the survey found 52% support U.S. airstrikes against Iran.
A plurality, 35%, say the war has no clear direction, but back the U.S.’s efforts to force Iran to give up its enriched uranium.
Trump’s approval rating dropped one point, to 37%, and his disapproval rating increased five points, to 59%, in the Economist/YouGov’s weekly survey of 1,836 U.S. adults taken April 24-27 (margin of error 3.2), compared to the previous week’s survey.
Trump’s 44%/53% approval/disapproval rating in Morning Consult’s weekly poll was unchanged from the prior week.
His approval rating among Republicans remains strong at 86% with six months until the midterm election, though 64% of independents disapprove of his job performance (the poll of 2,201 registered votes was taken April 24-27 and has a margin of error of 2).
Only 37% of adults had a positive view of Trump’s presidency, according to an NBC News poll, a new low for the network’s in-house polls, while a 63% majority disapproved of his job performance.
The same poll found most respondents disapproved of how Trump has handled the war in Iran, with 54% strongly disapproving in addition to another 13% who somewhat disapproved.
A majority of respondents also disapproved of the way Trump was handling economic issues like inflation and cost of living as the Iran war drives up prices for gasoline and other products, with 52% strongly disapproving—up from 44% strong disapproval when this poll was taken in April last year.
Trump’s approval rating is similar to former President Joe Biden’s at this point in his term. Biden had a 41% approval rating in May 2022, according to Gallup.
43%. That was Trump’s approval rating in the second week of May 2018, during his first term, according to Gallup.
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. His average disapproval rating reached a record high for his second term of 58% on April 22 and has stayed there since, according to The New York Times. 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 have a chance at outperforming Republicans in midterms, with an Emerson poll taken in late April showing Democrats with a 10-point advantage on the generic congressional ballot, though 10% of voters are undecided.
