President Donald Trump took office for the first eight months. His actions are often unconventional and unprecedented, but in recent months it has little effect on his approval rating.
Trump has sparked much controversy in the name of deploying troops in American cities, issuing (and modifying) widespread tariffs, and trolling political enemies. He was repeatedly taken to court in testing the limits of the power of administrative agencies.
His approval rating is historically low compared to other presidents (only his first presidency has worsened), but most have been higher since he handed the 100-day mark.
Now he must face another popular challenge: the government closure that began on October 1st. Both Democrats and Republicans are trying to pin it against them.
What is Trump’s approval rating? Here’s what we know:
New York Times/Siena: Low but stable approval ratings
A New York Times/Siena poll found that the votes filmed September 22-27 out of 1,313 registered voters had a stable Trump approval rating of 43%. (The margin of error for those who are more likely to vote is either positive or negative 3.2 percentage points.)
“At the beginning of his term, Trump’s approval rates fell from post-election highs and remained weaker at this point in the president’s time,” the New York Times reported. “However, over the past few months, his ratings have been resilient and stable, reflecting the hardening of most voters’ opinions about him.”
The country was published, which was directed at government shutdowns, which began on October 1.
Most US voters surveyed said that both parties were negligent due to the closure at 33%. But between two political parties, more than a quarter of the two respondents, more than 26% said they would blame Congressional Republicans and Trump, with 19% pointing their fingers at Democrats. Another 21% said they didn’t hear enough about the shutdown to say who was responsible.
Pew: Trump’s approval ratings are stable, with more Democrats disapproving their leaders
A Pew survey conducted between 3,445 US adults between September 22 and 28 found Trump’s approval rate was 40%, rising slightly since August, at the same time in April and June. (The margin for errors in the poll is 1.9% points.)
Polls also found that more Democrats disapproved than they approved the performance of party leaders’ work in Congress. Pollers said Democrats marked the first time they had such a negative opinion in a Pew Research Center survey that had been conducted over a decade. In the final survey of 2023, these figures were roughly the opposite. A total of 61% of Democrats approved the performance of Congressional leaders’ work, with 37% approved.
Conversely, poll Republicans have given party leaders in Congress a much higher recognition rating than they did in recent years. 69% of Republicans approved the work GOP Congress leaders do. This is up from 54% approvals in 2023.
Economist/YouGov: 53% of Americans believe their economy is getting worse
A poll by 1,656 US adult citizens/YouGov, photographed from September 26-29, found that Trump received 40% approval. Pollers said they had suppressed the term two weeks ago with 39% approval. (The margin of error for the entire sample is approximately 3.5%.)
Polls show that 19% of Americans think the economy is getting better, while 53% believe it’s getting worse. Republicans’ views on the economic direction also appear to be worsening, with the lowest margin for this semester (41% of Republicans say they’re getting better and 22% say they’re getting worse, polls found).
Trump’s approval rating is lower than other presidents
Gallup polls conducted between September 2 and 16 approved 40% of Trump’s job performance, which had not changed since the previous month.
Historical analysis by Gallup shows that Trump’s first September office approval rating – both the 45th and 47th presidents are lower than any other modern president at the same time in his administration. According to Gallup, his September approval is a way that is compared to other presidents in September in the first year of his term.
- Joe Biden (September 2021) – 43% approval
- Trump (September 2017) – 37% approved
- Barack Obama (September 2009) – 52% approval
- George W. Bush (September 2001) – 76% approval
- Bill Clinton (September 1993) – 50% approval
- George HW Bush (September 1989) – 70% approval
- Ronald Reagan (September 1981) – 52% approval
How did Trump’s average approval rate change the term?
The average based on the RealClearpolitics poll and the New York Times aggregator show that Trump’s approval ratings have fallen slightly for almost two weeks since they remained relatively stable for the past two months.
As of January 27th, 50.5% had been approved, and until March 13th Trump reversed to net minus with 47.8% approval, 48.5% disapproval, and spurred to net minus compared to the RealClearPolitics graphics show. Approval ratings were low on April 29th with a 45.1% approval, falling mainly on Trump’s 100-day mark. On September 30, the day before the government shutdown began, it reached a new low with 44.8% approvals.
Aggregators for the New York Times have shown that Trump’s approval has fallen from 52% in January to 44% in April, and has been stable ever since. Trump’s term low was 43% approval, and he first reached August 21st, according to the Times.
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.
