Donald Trump’s approval rating

Image: The Economist/Getty images

Last updated on May 6th 2026

Donald Trump is unpopular. His net approval rating—the share of people who think that he is doing a good job minus the share who think he’s performing badly—is -21. But that number masks an asymmetry. Of the Americans who approve of Mr Trump, half do so “strongly” while the other half are “somewhat” positive about him. Critics are more passionate: almost 90% of them disapprove of Mr Trump “strongly”.

Americans’ views of the economy largely explain why the president is unpopular. Most rate it as “fair” or “poor”. And more reckon it is getting worse than believe it is getting better. That pessimism could hurt the Republicans in November’s midterm elections. Thirty-four per cent of Americans trust them more than the Democrats to run the economy, but 40% think that the Democrats would do better. Our forecasting model gives Democrats a 19 in 20 chance of winning the House of Representatives. The Senate is a toss-up.

Discover more

America at 250

The Economist's review of the republic

Tariff tracker

Measuring the cost of Donald Trump's tariffs

Economy tracker

See how the American economy is doing

Net approval rating by issue

Mr Trump’s net approval rating for his handling of inflation and prices is -44, 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

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

0 days into
Donald Trump's term

Net approval rating, % points

Net approval rating by issue

0 days into Donald Trump's term

More from

0 days into
Donald Trump's term