Trump’s Approval Rating Drops as Fewer Americans Are Confident in His Handling of the Economy, Other Issues

Three-in-ten Americans now approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president, while 68% disapprove. Trump’s approval rating has dropped substantially over the course of his second term – his current rating is comparable to the lowest rating of his first term (29% according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in the days between Jan. 6, 2021, and the end of his first term). Confidence in Trump’s handling of several key issues, including the economy, foreign policy and immigration, is also lower than at the beginning of his term. Also, most Americans (69%) say they have little confidence in Trump to keep his business interests separate from his presidential decision-making. This is part of a larger report on the attitudes and dynamics shaping the 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s approval among his 2024 voters The decline in Trump’s approval ratings is particularly pronounced among those who voted for him in 2024, and among those who did not vote: 67% of Trump’s 2024 voters now approve of his performance, down from 75% in July, 83% at the beginning of this year and 95% early in his second term. Today, 24% of those who did not vote in 2024 approve of Trump’s performance. Among Trump’s own 2024 voters, his approval rating is down particularly among Hispanic voters and younger voters: Trump’s approval rating is down among his 2024 voters, with declines most pronounced among his younger and Hispanic supporters % who approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president * Nonvoters include those who did not vote in 2024 but were eligible to do so, as well as those who were not eligible to vote.** The February 2025 survey sampled 148 Hispanic Trump voters, for an effective sample size of 95 and a margin of error of +/- 10.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.*** The youngest adults who were eligible to vote in 2024 are currently 19 years old.Note: White adults include those who report only being one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race. Validated Trump and Harris voters are adult citizens who have an official state record of voting. Vote choice was collected in a survey conducted in the month after the 2024 election. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Trump’s approval rating is down among his 2024 voters, with declines most pronounced among his younger and Hispanic supporters % who approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president DatePanelTotalTrump 2024 votersHarris 2024 votersDid not vote in 2024WhiteHispanicAges 19-34Ages 35-49Ages 50-64Ages 65+2026-10-04Overall3067124——————2026-07-12Overall3475227——————2026-04-26Overall3478226——————2026-01-26Overall3783230——————2025-09-28Overall4087233——————2025-08-10Overall3885232——————2025-06-08Overall4188336——————2025-04-13Overall4089235——————2025-02-02Overall4795545——————2026-10-04Race————6957————2026-07-12Race————7765————2026-04-26Race————8166————2026-01-26Race————8575————2025-09-28Race————8981————2025-08-10Race————88————2025-06-08Race————9083————2025-04-13Race————91————2025-02-02Race————9593————2026-10-04Age——————495875762026-07-12Age——————646784802026-04-26Age——————577087882026-01-26Age——————738187862025-09-28Age——————768792902025-08-10Age——————698489922025-06-08Age——————808792922025-04-13Age——————818992912025-02-02Age——————92949596 * Nonvoters include those who did not vote in 2024 but were eligible to do so, as well as those who were not eligible to vote.** The February 2025 survey sampled 148 Hispanic Trump voters, for an effective sample size of 95 and a margin of error of +/- 10.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.*** The youngest adults who were eligible to vote in 2024 are currently 19 years old.Note: White adults include those who report only being one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race. Validated Trump and Harris voters are adult citizens who have an official state record of voting. Vote choice was collected in a survey conducted in the month after the 2024 election. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER 57% of Trump’s 2024 Hispanic backers now approve of his performance in office, compared with 69% of White 2024 Trump voters. 49% of 2024 Trump voters ages 19 to 34 and 58% of those 35 to 49 approve, compared with 76% of 2024 Trump voters ages 50 and older. Hardly any of those who voted for Kamala Harris in 2024 (1%) approve of Trump’s performance in office – this is little changed over the course of his term. For more on Trump’s job approval rating among demographic groups, explore the detailed tables. Confidence in Trump on key issues declines Public confidence in Trump on several key issues has declined over his term For example, 35% of Americans now say they are very or somewhat confident in Trump to make good decisions about economic policy – down 7 percentage points since April and 10 percentage points since April 2025. Confidence in Trump on economy, foreign policy, immigration is lower than earlier in his term % who are very/somewhat confident Trump can do each of the following Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Confidence in Trump on economy, foreign policy, immigration is lower than earlier in his term % who are very/somewhat confident Trump can do each of the following DateStatementTotalRep/Lean RepDem/Lean Dempanel2024-11-17Make good decisions about immigration53882012025-04-13Make good decisions about immigration48841312025-08-10Make good decisions about immigration46831212026-04-26Make good decisions about immigration4179812026-10-04Make good decisions about immigration41771312024-11-17Make good decisions about the economy59922722025-04-13Make good decisions about the economy45801122025-08-10Make good decisions about the economy44801122026-04-26Make good decisions about the economy42771022026-10-04Make good decisions about the economy35671022024-11-17Make good decisions about foreign policy53881932025-04-13Make good decisions about foreign policy44781132025-08-10Make good decisions about foreign policy43791132026-04-26Make good decisions about foreign policy3872832026-10-04Make good decisions about foreign policy356793 Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Two-thirds of Republicans now express confidence in Trump on this issue, down from 77% in April of this year and 80% in April of last year. One-in-ten Democrats express confidence on this issue – little changed over his term. Public confidence in Trump on foreign policy and immigration is also lower than it was earlier in his term. Americans’ confidence in Trump on working with Democrats, governing is down About two-in-ten Americans (21%) now say they have confidence in Trump to bring the country closer together. This is a drop from 33% who said this at the beginning of his term, with the decline driven largely by changing GOP views. About four-in-ten Republicans (39%) now say they have confidence in Trump to do this, down 19 points from April 2025. GOP confidence in Trump to bring the country closer together has declined % who are very/somewhat confident Trump can do each of the following Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER GOP confidence in Trump to bring the country closer together has declined % who are very/somewhat confident Trump can do each of the following DateStatementTotalRep/Lean RepDem/Lean Dem2025-04-13Manage the executive branch effectively44781112025-08-10Manage the executive branch effectively4277912026-04-26Manage the executive branch effectively3975712026-10-04Manage the executive branch effectively38721012025-08-10Work well with Democratic elected officals2749822026-04-26Work well with Democratic elected officals2547622026-10-04Work well with Democratic elected officals2341922024-11-17Bring the country closer together41701232025-04-13Bring the country closer together3358732025-08-10Bring the country closer together3156732026-04-26Bring the country closer together2749732026-10-04Bring the country closer together213973 Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Public opinion of Trump’s ability to manage the executive branch and work well with Democrats has decreased modestly since early in his term: 38% of Americans, including 72% of Republicans, now say they have confidence in Trump to manage the executive branch. Fewer (23%) see him as able to work well with Democrats. Full trends on confidence in Trump on other issues can be found in the appendix. How confident are Americans that Trump keeps his business interests separate from his presidential role? Three-in-ten Americans say they are very or somewhat confident that Trump keeps his business interests separate from the decisions he makes as president. More than twice that share (69%) say they are not too or not at all confident in this. Views among Republicans Half of Americans are ‘not at all’ confident Trump keeps business interests and presidential decisions separate % who say they are __ confident that Trump keeps his own business interests separate from the decisions he makes as president Note: No answer responses are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Half of Americans are ‘not at all’ confident Trump keeps business interests and presidential decisions separate % who say they are __ confident that Trump keeps his own business interests separate from the decisions he makes as president GroupVerySomewhatNot tooNot at allGroupingTotal13171950totalRep/Lean Rep27312517xDem/Lean Dem251478x Note: No answer responses are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER A majority of Republicans (58%) express at least some confidence that Trump keeps his business interests and presidential actions separate, including 27% who are very confident. Views among Democrats Just 7% of Democrats are very or somewhat confident that Trump keeps his business interests and decisions as president separate. Nearly eight-in-ten Democrats (78%) say they are not at all confident.