RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. President Donald Trump is facing one of the most brutal weeks of his political career in the polls , with three major pollsters this week finding his approval rating at the lowest point of his second time in office.
An AP-NORC poll conducted July 23-27 found just 33 percent of Americans approve of Trump's job performance, down 4 points from the center's prior survey, while 66 percent disapprove, up 4 points. It is the lowest approval rating Trump has recorded in AP-NORC polling since the start of his second term.
A Quinnipiac University national poll, also fielded July 23-27, found 32 percent of registered voters approve of Trump's job performance, while 58 percent disapprove. Quinnipiac's polling analyst, Tim Malloy, called it the lowest approval rating Trump has ever recorded in a Quinnipiac University poll, spanning both of his terms in office.
A CNN poll conducted by SSRS put Trump's approval at 34 percent, matching the career low he last hit at the close of his first term, in the aftermath of the January 6 insurrection. Half of Americans now strongly disapprove of him, a high across both of his terms, while a record-low 15 percent strongly approve.
The polls landed as a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran collapsed, and each found deep public unease about the conflict.
In the CNN poll, just 28 percent approve of Trump's handling of the situation in Iran, one of his weakest ratings on any issue tested. Only about a quarter of respondents think Trump has a clear plan for handling the conflict, down from 40 percent at the start of the war, and 62 percent now say he is not an effective world leader, up from 54 percent early in his second term. Just 25 percent say the war has been worth the toll in American lives and dollars, with younger adults particularly skeptical.
The Quinnipiac poll found similarly grim numbers for the president: just 28 percent of voters approve of the way Trump is handling the situation with Iran, while 66 percent disapprove. Support for the underlying U.S. military action against Iran fares only slightly better, with 34 percent in favor and 60 percent opposed, the lowest support and highest opposition Quinnipiac has recorded since it began asking the question in early March.
A majority of voters, 55 percent, now think the military action will last at least a year, up sharply from 32 percent who said so in Quinnipiac's April 15 poll. Fifty-four percent think the United States is not winning the war, and 66 percent say the costs have not been worth the benefits.
The AP-NORC poll found just 28 percent of Americans approve of Trump's handling of the situation in Iran, while 69 percent disapprove, continuing a steady decline from 34 percent approval in the center's June poll. Only 33 percent of Americans think the war with Iran has been worth fighting, while 64 percent say it has not.
The poll also found little consensus on next steps: 23 percent want the U.S. to continue military action, 23 percent want it stopped entirely, and 30 percent want a pause while negotiators seek a renewed ceasefire.
All three polls point to economic anxiety adding to Trump's political troubles, with his handling of the economy underwater by wide margins in every survey.
The CNN poll found just 30 percent of Americans approve of Trump's handling of the economy, while 70 percent disapprove. Seventy-four percent say rising gas prices have caused them at least some hardship, up from 63 percent in March, with just under a quarter believing Trump has a plan to address the issue. Trump's approval on gas prices stood at just 21 percent, and his approval on inflation at 25 percent, his two weakest issue ratings alongside Iran. Seventy-one percent said Trump has not gone far enough in trying to reduce the price of everyday goods, up from 58 percent a year ago.
In the Quinnipiac survey, 34 percent of voters approve of Trump's handling of the economy, while 62 percent disapprove. Seventy-one percent of voters describe the economy as either not so good or poor, and 59 percent think it is getting worse. Forty-nine percent say they are worse off financially than they were a year ago, compared with 34 percent who say they are better off. Fifty-four percent said they blame Trump "a lot" for the recent rise in gas prices.
"The answer to the time-tested campaign query, 'are you better off today than you were a year ago,' comes back... no," Malloy said.
The AP-NORC poll found Trump's approval on the economy at 30 percent, with 69 percent disapproving. Forty percent of Americans cite the cost of gas as a major source of stress in their lives, up from 27 percent in a February poll conducted before the war began.
The Quinnipiac University poll surveyed 963 registered voters from July 23-27 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points. The AP-NORC poll surveyed 1,165 adults over the same period, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 points. The CNN poll, conducted by SSRS from July 23-27, surveyed 1,225 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 points. Surveys were conducted online or by telephone.
Presidential approval ratings below 40 percent have historically preceded difficult midterm cycles for the incumbent party. Trump had a 40 percent approval rating at the equivalent point in his first term, according to Gallup, before Democrats flipped 41 House seats in the 2018 midterms .
The latest surveys point to similar warning signs. Trump's approval among independents, the group that helped Republicans win in 2024, has remained well below 40 percent. Many strategists see that as the minimum level needed to avoid a midterm wave, while Republican support among the party's base has remained high.
Quinnipiac's poll also found an early Democratic enthusiasm advantage. Forty-eight perc...
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