President Donald Trump has been in office for just over seven months, and his approval ratings have been high due to many measures after coinciding with the Jeffrey Epstein scandal in July.
Congress was on break throughout August, but Trump deployed National Guard in D.C. to combat crime and homelessness, threatening to do so in other cities. He also implemented new tariffs on several countries.
Recent polls show that Americans are more partisan and have more feelings about Trump’s work performance than they did in the past.
So, what do Americans think? Here’s what you need to know:
What is Trump’s overall approval?
A RealClearpolitics poll shows Trump’s approval ratings have become more negative throughout the first few weeks of July, and are present towards the end of the month, and remained stable last month. Aggregated polls by the New York Times show similar trends.
As of January 27th, Trump received a +6.2 percentage points approval rating, but as of March 13th, it reversed slightly negatively, and there is no show for RealClearpolitics graphics. Approval rating reached the most negative on April 29th, at -7.2% points. This fell around Trump’s 100 Day mark. The controversy over Epstein was published in week three, which again approached that low on July 22nd and 23rd at -7.1 percentage points.
His average approval margin as of August 29th is -5 percentage points, according to RealClearPolitics. According to a New York Times aggregator on August 29th, the approval margin is -8 percent points.
Trump’s approval rating is lower than other presidents
Historical analysis by Gallup shows that his approval rating in Trump’s first few years of office – both the 45th and the 47th presidents are lower than other modern presidents at the same time in power.
In a Gallup poll conducted on August 1-20, 40% approved Trump’s job performance. According to Gallup, here is how it is compared to other presidents in August of the first year of his term:
- Joe Biden (August 2021) – 49% approval
- Trump (August 2017) – 36% approval
- Barack Obama (August 2009) – 53% approval
- George W. Bush (August 2001) – 56% approval
- Bill Clinton (August 1993) – 44% approval
- George HW Bush (August 1989) – 69% approval
- Ronald Reagan (August 1981) – 60% approval
The August polls showed that the plateau, which long rated the president for the summer, has sometimes immersed himself in a historically low level. These figures are driven primarily by undermining the level of support from the largely indifferent Republicans, overwhelming democratic opposition, and independent support, further highlighting the support for Trump and the partisan nature of his second term.
38% of Americans approve Trump using the military in DC
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on August 22-24, 40% have approved, while 54% have not approved Trump’s job performance. The poll looked at 1,022 US adults with an error margin of ±3 percentage points.
The poll reflects the number of approvals seen in the last four consecutive surveys since late June, showing most changes throughout.
The survey discovered two major Trump policy issues: similar plateaus on immigration and the economy. Of the respondents, 37% approved performance in the economy, and 55% disapproved. Immigrants received a slightly higher number, with 43% approved and 51% disapproved.
Pollers found that 38% of Americans use the military to support law enforcement in the US capital, with 46% opposed. The rest were uncertain or refused to answer the question.
Most Americans believe Trump has gone too far with tariffs
An Economist/YouGov poll surveyed 1,523 US citizens between August 22 and 25, with 56% of respondents disapproving how Trump handled his work, compared to 41% who approved it.
The poll asked whether Trump was too powerful to implement his agenda in seven regions, with more respondents saying he went too far than he was “right” or “not doing enough.”
When it comes to tariffs, 52% of Americans said Trump had gone too far, but that was just right, while 9% said that it wasn’t enough.
The vote took place a few days before Trump’s double the tariff on goods from India came into effect, and was owed to a maximum of 50% on some goods from the country.
Contribution: Reuters
Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Connect reporter for the USA Today Network. Contact her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and Tiktok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.
Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA Today. You can contact her kapalmer@usatoday.com and x @kathrynplmr.
