Trump Approval Lowest for Any President Pre-Midterms Since 1990: WSJ Poll - Newsweek
President Donald Trump's approval rating has dropped to 37 percent, the lowest recorded for any president heading into a midterm election in Wall Street Journal polls dating to 1990, according to a new survey released Friday.
The poll of 1,500 registered voters, conducted September 16-21, found that 61 percent disapprove of Trump's job performance. The result comes as Republicans battle growing concerns about their prospects in November's midterm elections and as several recent surveys have shown the president's popularity deteriorating.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment via email.
According to the Journal survey, just 37 percent of Americans approve of Trump's job performance while 61 percent disapprove.
The poll also found signs of weakness within Trump's coalition. Eleven percent of voters who backed Trump in the 2024 election said they now regret their vote. Among Republicans who do not identify as part of the MAGA movement, 11 percent said they plan to vote for a Democratic congressional candidate this fall.
The results add to a growing body of evidence suggesting Trump's political standing has weakened as the midterms approach.
Newsweek reported on Thursday that Trump's net approval rating in Nate Silver's polling tracker fell to minus 22.4, the lowest point of either of his White House terms.
"Trump approval now at -22.4, his low point for the term and now lower than at any point in his first term, even after Jan. 6," Silver wrote on X.
VoteHub's polling average also placed Trump's net approval at minus 22.4.
Economic pessimism was widespread in the Wall Street Journal survey. Nearly two-thirds of respondents, 65 percent, rated the U.S. economy negatively, compared with 33 percent who viewed it positively. The poll also found that 60 percent said Trump's economic policies had made the economy worse, while 25 percent said they had made the economy better.
Those findings broadly align with recent polling covered by Newsweek.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released earlier this month found Trump at 32 percent approval. An American Research Group survey put his approval rating at 29 percent.
Several recent surveys have pointed to concerns over inflation, fuel prices, household finances and the broader cost of living.
Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, previously told Newsweek: "Overall it's pretty clear that Trump's numbers are worse now than they were eight years ago. Dissatisfaction with the economy/inflation is probably the biggest reason why."
The White House has repeatedly dismissed such polling.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle previously told Newsweek that the 2024 election was the "ultimate poll," arguing that nearly 80 million Americans voted for Trump's agenda. Ingle also said the administration had made "historic progress" on jobs, inflation and housing affordability.
The latest numbers arrive as Republicans confront growing concerns about the political environment ahead of Election Day.
The Journal reported that Republican candidates and strategists have become increasingly worried about recent polling and voter sentiment, with some candidates seeking to distance themselves from Trump on issues ranging from the Iran conflict to economic policy.
The poll arrives as some Republicans publicly push back on Trump and his administration. Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said this week that lawmakers should not be labeled disloyal for disagreeing with the president, adding that some White House officials needed to "get over a loyalty test or a perfect test."
Tillis also argued that Republicans in some states may need to create distance from the White House when they genuinely disagree with administration policies.
Political analysts have warned for months that Trump's weak approval numbers could create broader challenges for Republican candidates. "Any midterm election with an unpopular president is potentially treacherous for his party," Nathan Gonzales, editor and publisher of Inside Elections, told Newsweek earlier this month.
The latest Journal poll is not the only warning sign for Republicans. A state-by-state analysis published this month found Trump underwater in 41 states and every major battleground state. The analysis, based on Civiqs tracking data, showed only nine states still gave the president a positive net approval rating.
Some of the largest declines were recorded in Iowa, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.
Political analysts caution that approval ratings alone do not predict election outcomes, which are decided race by race. But presidential approval remains one of the most closely watched indicators of the national political climate.
The Journal's latest findings suggest Republicans enter the final stretch of the campaign facing a historically difficult environment, with Democrats needing only modest gains to reclaim the House and several Senate contests still highly competitive.
