Poll: Trump's approval rating is down to 42 percent.
It's even lower on the economy.
A new poll from Reuters/Ipsos places Donald Trump’s approval rating at 42 percent. That’s down five points from where it was when he took office.
On the economy, traditionally a comparatively strong suit for Trump in the polls, his approval rating is only 37 percent, with 51 percent disapproving. Similarly, on trade 36 percent approve of Trump’s performance while 52 percent disapprove. And on inflation, probably the biggest single issue that propelled Trump to victory in 2024, only 31 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s performance, compared to 57 percent who disapprove.
Americans also disapprove of Trump’s performance in other areas, according to the same poll. Fifty-seven percent disagree with the statement that "it's okay for a U.S. president to withhold funding from universities if the president doesn’t agree with how the university is run." This is Trump’s announced policy.
In addition, 66 percent say they don’t think the president should be in control of premier cultural institutions. Trump has made himself head of the Kennedy Center.
As for foreign relations, 59 percent of respondents say that America is losing credibility on the global stage.
Even on immigration, Trump is no better than break-even in this survey. It found that 45 percent approve of his performance in this area, compared to 46 percent who do not.
I had assumed that immigration remained a strength for Trump. Apparently not.
It’s not a good idea to fret (or rejoice) about the results of polls taken three months into a presidency. After all, Trump has completed only one-sixteenth of his term. And bad economic news from the early days of a presidency is quickly forgotten if things improve.
But if, as many forecasters expect, these policies produce a recession, high inflation, or even just an economic slump, it’s almost certain that Trump’s approval rating will drop further. At a minimum, the Reuters/Ipsos poll confirms what common sense suggests — Trump will not be able to shift blame for a bad economy to Joe Biden, Jerome Powell, the Chinese, or the “fake news media.”
The other poll results suggest that Trump’s heavy-handedness on multiple fronts isn’t playing well, either. It’s difficult to see Trump dialing that back. It’s who he is.
Perhaps, though, this discontent is a byproduct of unhappiness with the economy. If the economy takes off, Trump’s heavy-handedness might well be ignored or forgiven.
Trump’s team is confident that, in the long-term, the economy will benefit from his economic policies, especially the tariffs. Short-term pain for long-term gain, as the president has said.
Congressional Republicans will likely pay a steep price in 2026 if short-term pain is coming. But if long-term gain, spurred for example by a manufacturing boom, kicks in by early 2028, the GOP should be in good shape for the presidential election.
If the hoped-for manufacturing boom kicks in later, President Newsom or President Booker (for example) can thank Trump for the tariffs. And if a manufacturing boom never materializes, few in either party are likely to thank Trump.
Has Congress passed any laws? With all the reforms Trump pushing so very hard with immigration and the Universities and their foreign terror students has he even presented a suggested bill to the Republican majority Congress? If he has I haven't heard about it. Trump's only positive is that the things that he wants (tariffs aside) are generally things we want and the left hates. He has shown no ability whatsoever to either work with Congress to get legislation to achieve his goals or to use his pulpit (I refuse to say bully in 2025) to convince anyone of what he is doing and why. This is why so many of us wanted DeSantis. It wasn't just about winning the election. It was about achieving lasting progress against the leftist project.
Inflation hasn't been an issue since Trump was elected, so the poll doesn't actually correlate with reality, more perception. I guess perceptions are more important at this point.