A new Reuters/Ipsos survey pegs President Trump's approval rating at just 32 percent, a career low that lands roughly six weeks before midterm elections with control of Congress on the line.
The poll, conducted September 17, 20 among 1,277 respondents, found 66 percent of those surveyed disapprove of the president's job performance. That two-to-one deficit marks the steepest hole Trump has faced in any national survey since he first entered politics, The Hill reported.
When Trump began his second term, the same Reuters/Ipsos poll had him at 47 percent approval. The 15-point slide and 25-point jump in disapproval have unfolded against a backdrop of an unpopular conflict with Iran and persistent voter anxiety over the economy and immigration.
The Reuters/Ipsos snapshot is not an outlier in direction, though it sits below the broader trendline. Decision Desk HQ's polling average showed Trump's approval at 38.8 percent and his disapproval at 59.7 percent as of Monday evening, still deeply underwater, but roughly seven points more generous than the single Reuters/Ipsos result.
That gap matters. A three-point margin of error on a sample of 1,277 people means the true approval figure could sit anywhere between 29 and 35 percent. Even at the top of that range, the number would represent the weakest standing of Trump's second term.
For an administration that entered office with momentum and a mandate from voters, the trajectory raises hard questions about what went wrong, and whether the White House has time to reverse it before ballots are cast. Trump has continued to advance ambitious policy goals, including a sweeping security deal with Denmark over Greenland and domestic initiatives aimed at keeping American industry competitive.
A separate New York Times/Siena University poll added another warning sign for the GOP. That survey found Republicans trailing Democrats on three issues the party has historically owned or fought to a draw: immigration, healthcare, and the economy.
Losing ground on immigration is particularly notable. Republicans ran hard on border security in 2024 and won. If voters now trust Democrats more on the issue, it suggests the public is judging the administration on results rather than rhetoric, and finding those results lacking.
The economy tells a similar story. Voters who feel squeezed by high costs do not tend to reward the party in power, regardless of which side occupies the White House. Trump has pushed proposals designed to put money directly into Americans' pockets, including a $5,000 cash dividend pledge tied to Republican retention of Congress. Whether that message breaks through in time is an open question.
The Reuters/Ipsos findings point to the Iran conflict as a significant drag on public opinion. The poll does not break out how much of the disapproval stems from the war versus domestic economic concerns, but the combination has clearly eroded the coalition that carried Trump to a second term.
Wartime presidents have historically seen approval spikes at the outset of military action, followed by steep declines when costs mount and objectives blur. Trump's numbers suggest the country moved past any rally effect long ago.
The administration has simultaneously pursued strategic wins abroad, such as a deal securing rare-earth mining access in Greenland and permanent military basing rights in the Arctic. Those achievements may matter for long-term national security, but they have not translated into public confidence on the issues voters say they care about most.
Midterm elections sit roughly six weeks away. Control of both the House and Senate hangs in the balance, and a president at 32 percent approval is a heavy weight for down-ballot candidates to carry.
History offers few examples of a governing party holding Congress when the president's approval sits in the low thirties. The White House has continued to roll out policy announcements, including the creation of an "AI Force" initiative aimed at protecting American technological leadership, but policy rollouts and polling recoveries operate on different clocks.
Several questions remain unanswered. The Reuters/Ipsos poll does not specify whether its 1,277 respondents were likely voters, registered voters, or all adults, a distinction that can shift results by several points. The New York Times/Siena University poll's methodology and exact timing are also unclear from available reporting.
What is clear is the direction. Every major public survey now shows a president whose support has fallen sharply since Inauguration Day, whose party trails on the issues voters rank highest, and whose window to change the trajectory before November is closing fast.
Polls measure a mood, not a verdict. But when the mood is this sour six weeks out, the verdict tends to follow, and the people who pay the price are the congressional candidates who have to defend a record they did not scribe.
