Donald Trump's approval ratings among Americans on the President's handling of the price rise and overall economy has witnessed jaw-dropping drop. The recent poll numbers are not encouraging for Republicans ahead of November 2026 U.S. midterm elections.
The dismal numbers come just weeks before midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans maintain control of Congress and while Trump is hitting the campaign trail with an aggressive schedule of rallies. But Trump — who has asked voters to pretend that he is on the ballot as he tries to bolster turnout — remains deeply unpopular, with even many Republicans faulting him for failing to deliver on promised relief.
Donald Trump Losing Confidence of American voters?
According to a new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, only 17 per cent of U.S. adults approve of the Republican president's handling of the cost of living. Just 26 per cent approve of his handling of the economy overall, marking a new low.
A majority, 65 per cent, of U.S. adults now blame Trump’s policies for persistently high costs more than factors outside of his control, signaling growing weariness over his aggressive use of tariffs and continued unhappiness with the war with Iran.
Over the last few months, Americans have grown more worried about being able to afford basics like groceries and gas. About half of U.S. adults now say they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about being able to fill their tanks, up from 39 per cent in July. About half are also highly concerned about being able to afford food.
Trump's Struggling Approval Ratings
Trump’s current approval on the economy is a 14 percentage point drop from March 2025, just after he took office for the second time. His struggles on the issue mark a significant departure from his first term, when the economy was often a point of strength.
Trump spent much of the 2024 campaign hammering President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats, on inflation and promising to lower prices. Now, there's widespread disappointment with his performance. About 7 in 10 Americans say Trump’s handling of the cost of living has been “worse than expected." That includes roughly half of Republicans, who are also broadly concerned about being able to afford groceries and gas.
Overall, however, most Americans, 69 per cent, continue to say the war has not been worth fighting, up slightly from 64 per cent in July. Only 28 per cent approve of how Trump is handling Iran.
Americans are also unhappy with Trump's trade wars. Only about 3 in 10 U.S. adults approve of how he is handling trade negotiations with other countries, down from about 4 in 10 in March. And 64 per cent say he has “gone too far” on imposing new tariffs on other countries, up from 58 per cent in January.
Overall, the picture is not better. Only about 3 in 10 Americans approve of how Trump is handling his job as president. And about 6 in 10 say the country as a whole is “much” or “somewhat” worse off than when he began his second term.
The issue on which Trump maintains relative strength is border security, with about half of Americans saying they approve of his performance.
Trump faces more blame than Joe Biden did
President Trump's low grade on the economy rivals Joe Biden’s 28 per cent approval rating in June 2022, when there was record-high inflation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But Americans were less likely to blame Biden in the lead-up to that year's midterm elections, a sharp contrast with the solid majority who hold Trump responsible now. In October 2022, 44 per cent of Americans said Biden’s policies were responsible for high prices, while 55 per cent blamed factors outside of his control.
