Image: The Economist/Getty images
493 days into Donald Trump's term
The president's net approval rating is -24,
down 1.9 points since last week.
34% approve, 58% disapprove, 6% not sure
down 1.9 points since last week.
34% approve, 58% disapprove, 6% not sure
Last updated on May 28th 2026
Net approval rating, % points
Compared with
Trump 2017
Biden 2021
Donald Trump this week became the most unpopular president since our poll started in 2009. His net approval rating is -24. The war in Iran has hurt Mr Trump’s standing: his net approval rating for foreign policy is -20. But it is his handling of the economy that is really dragging him down. Three-quarters of Americans think that its condition is “fair” or “poor”, and 63% think that it is getting worse. If that doesn’t change it will hurt the Republican Party in November’s midterm elections. Our forecasting model says that the Democrats have a nine-in-ten chance of winning control of the House of Representatives. The Senate is a toss-up.
For now, Mr Trump continues to notch up victories in the party primaries ahead of November’s elections. Thanks to his endorsement, Ken Paxton, Texas’s scandal-ridden attorney-general, trounced a four-time incumbent to become the Republican nominee for a Senate seat. Other politicians who dared to cross the president have similarly been ousted, including Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana senator, and Thomas Massie, a Kentucky congressman. Fealty can secure a party primary—but given Mr Trump’s unpopularity, it may also bring defeat in the subsequent race.
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Net approval rating by issue
Inflation/prices
Jobs & the economy
Foreign policy
Immigration
Crime
Mr Trump’s net approval rating for his handling of inflation and prices is -43, the lowest it has been this term. That is hardly surprising. Before the Iran war began, the average price for a gallon of petrol was under $3. Now it is $4.48. Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary, has promised that “help is on the way”. Given the administration’s inconsistent statements about the war, Americans could be forgiven for being sceptical.
Net approval rating by state
Using YouGov’s data, The Economist has projected Mr Trump’s approval rating state by state. As you might expect, approval of Mr Trump is lowest in states that tend to vote for Democrats and highest in those that tend to vote for Republicans. Mr Trump’s voters still overwhelmingly approve of his performance as president. But the projection also shows how dissatisfaction with Mr Trump is widespread even in states that voted for him in 2024. The numbers will make anxious reading for Republicans facing competitive races in this year’s midterm elections.
Trump’s net approval rating by demographic, % points
As with other Republican politicians before him, white and male voters are among the most likely to approve of Mr Trump’s job performance, while younger voters and members of ethnic minorities are among the most strongly disapproving. People who have the most education—college graduates and postgrads—are least likely to support Mr Trump. Voters of pension age, normally a solidly Republican bloc, are also surprisingly lukewarm on the president.
What is the most important issue facing America?
% responding by party
1 Inflation/prices
Dem 30%
Rep 31%
All 29%
2 Jobs and the economy
Dem 14%
Rep 13%
All 15%
3 Health care
Dem 14%
Rep 6%
All 9%
4 Taxes and government spending
Dem 3%
Rep 10%
All 8%
5 Immigration
Dem 1%
Rep 13%
All 6%
6 Civil rights
Dem 10%
Rep 1%
All 6%
7 Climate change and the environment
Dem 9%
Rep 1%
All 5%
8 National security
Dem 1%
Rep 10%
All 5%
9 Civil liberties
Dem 7%
Rep 1%
All 4%
10 Crime
Dem 2%
Rep 5%
All 4%
11 Abortion
Dem 1%
Rep 4%
All 3%
Some political issues disproportionately concern political partisans. Immigration is a key issue for Mr Trump’s Republican base, as are taxes and government spending. Democrats are more worried about health care and climate change. The chart above shows the most important issues among American adults and members of each party.
Most important issues, 2017-2026
Karl Marx said that men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please. That goes for Mr Trump as much as for anyone else. Public opinion in Mr Trump’s first term came to be dominated by concern about health care, especially after the outbreak of covid-19. The economic effects of the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 made inflation a defining issue of Mr Biden’s presidency. The chart above shows which issues have been most important to American adults since 2017, based on weekly survey data from YouGov.
Sources: YouGov/The Economist; BLS; Cooperative Election Study; US Census; Current Population Survey; FiftyPlusOne; Pew Research Centre; The Economist