Map Shows Donald Trump Approval Rating Drop in Biggest Beef States - Newsweek

President Donald Trump’s net approval rating has fallen across 10 major beef-producing states in the month since he announced a temporary increase in beef import quotas designed to bring down the cost of beef, according to polling data.

Trump's net approval rating declined between August 21 and September 21 in Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas, according to data from Civiqs’ rolling online tracking survey.

The White House said additional imports could lower beef prices for consumers. Critics argued greater competition from imported beef could hurt U.S. ranchers as they rebuild the national cattle herd.

Trump is trying to balance two competing pressures: bringing down grocery costs for consumers while protecting cattle producers who could face greater competition from imported beef. The political stakes are particularly significant in cattle-producing states with an industry that has raised concerns about the government's approach.

All 10 states in the dataset recorded a decline in net approval over the period. The movement was relatively modest but consistent. Trump lost three points in Kentucky, falling from -8 to -11, and Oklahoma, where he slipped from +4 to +1.

His net approval declined two points in Kansas, from +4 to +2; Missouri, from -24 to -26; Montana, from +3 to +1; North Dakota, from +14 to +12; South Dakota, from +5 to +3; Texas, from -18 to -20; and Florida, from -13 to -15.

Nebraska recorded the smallest decline, moving one point from -3 to -4. Across the 10 states, the average decline was 2.1 percentage points, while the median decline was 2 points.

The figures show a notable pattern across cattle country, but they do not establish that Trump's beef policy caused the shifts in his approval rating. Presidential approval can move for numerous reasons, and the changes measured over the month were between one and three percentage points.

Trump announced the beef plan on August 21 as his administration sought to curb elevated prices at grocery stores.

Under the plan, the United States would temporarily allow up to 300,000 metric tons of additional beef imports for ground beef production over 90 days without the higher out-of-quota tariff that would otherwise apply.

Trump wrote on Truth Social on August 21 that "for the next 90 days, the United States will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef to be imported with no out of quota tariff. We have a commitment that this beef will be sold at 25 percent below current market prices. This deal will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again."

The announcement came amid pressure on consumers from elevated beef prices. Beef and veal prices were 9.4 percent higher than a year earlier in the most recent figures available when the deal was announced, while the country's cattle supply had fallen to historically low levels.

However, the plan was met with resistance from parts of the cattle industry and some Republicans representing states where ranching is economically important.

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association argued that increasing supplies of below-market imported beef could work against efforts to rebuild the American cattle herd. Its CEO, Colin Woodall, said the policy "sacrifices long-term stability for short-term messaging."

“NCBA is disappointed by the President’s statement. While America’s cattle producers share the goal of keeping groceries affordable for consumers, flooding the market with government-subsidized, below-market beef is not the way to rebuild the American cattle herd. Cattle markets have already turned sharply lower this morning, to the detriment of farmers and ranchers," Woodall said in a press release.

Outgoing Republican Representative Thomas Massie slammed Trump’s proposal as a “nothing-burger,” writing on X that it is "already legal for farmers to process their own meat, and people can buy a cow and do the same. The problem is it’s currently illegal to sell it 'by the cut.' So what exactly is being promised that Trump’s corporate meatpacking bosses will allow?"

Despite the declines, Trump remained above water in five of the 10 states on Sept. 21: North Dakota, where he had his highest net approval rating in the group at plus 12, South Dakota at plus 3, Kansas at plus 2, Montana at plus 1 and Oklahoma at plus 1.

The administration has portrayed the beef action as part of its effort to address affordability ahead of the November midterm elections. The 90-day measure is scheduled to remain in effect beyond Election Day, which falls on Nov. 3.

Contact Newsweek editor on this story: Edward Pearcey.