Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 37% in a new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, while his disapproval rating climbed to 62%, a record high across both of his presidential terms. The survey found his approval slipped from 39% in February, even as disapproval rose from 60% to 62%.
The numbers point to a president whose base is still largely intact but whose appeal beyond it is shrinking. Fully 85% of Republicans approve of Trump, and 45% strongly approve, down from 53% in September. Among MAGA Republicans, 95% approve overall and 61% strongly approve. Among non-MAGA Republicans, overall approval falls to 64%, and just 13% strongly approve. Independents are the biggest drag on his standing: only 25% approve, a record low for both of his terms.
Trump’s weak numbers come as Americans turn increasingly negative on the issues that most directly shape daily life. About 76% disapprove of how he is handling the cost of living, while about 23% approve. Nearly 72% disapprove of his handling of inflation, about 65% disapprove of his handling of the economy, and about 66% disapprove of his handling of the situation with Iran. About 65% also disapprove of how he is handling relations with U.S. allies, and about 6 in 10 disapprove of his handling of taxes. The poll was conducted using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel.
There is also no sign of a broad national rebound around his message. Two-thirds of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction, and Democrats have widened their midterm edge slightly to 5 points. Trump has argued that his tax policies are helping households, saying that “every single American at every income level -- there's more money in their pockets this week because of the Republican tax policies,” but the poll shows voters are not feeling it. Concerns over the economy and Iran appear to be feeding the decline, with the war in Iran pushing the global economy into an oil crisis and gas prices at a four-year high. The next test is not whether Trump can hold Republicans; it is whether he can stop bleeding support from independents before that weakness hardens into a midterm problem.