President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 32%, the lowest mark of his political career, as members of his own party increasingly sour on his handling of the cost of living amid an unpopular war with Iran, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released Monday. The four-day survey, completed Sunday, found Trump’s support eroding on multiple fronts at once — inflation, the Iran conflict and immigration — just six weeks before midterm elections that will decide control of Congress.
A New Low, and a Fast One
Trump’s overall approval dropped three points in a single week, down from 35% in the previous Reuters/Ipsos poll. The decline was driven in large part by a sharp pullback in support from his own party: approval among Republicans fell to 73%, down from 82% just seven days earlier. The nine-point weekly swing among Republicans is among the steepest single-week drops recorded in the polling series since Trump returned to office.
From 47% to 32% in 20 Months
The poll underscores how far Trump’s standing has slipped since his second term began. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in the hours after his January 2025 inauguration, 47% of Americans approved of his performance, and Trump had campaigned heavily on promises to bring down prices and end foreign wars. Twenty months later, those same two issues — inflation and an ongoing war — are now central to his lowest approval numbers on record.
Republicans Break From Trump on the Economy
The cost of living remains the top issue Americans say will shape their vote in November, and just 17% of respondents approved of Trump’s handling of it. For the first time in the polling series, Republicans who disapprove of his cost-of-living record now outnumber those who approve, 51% to 44%. Dissatisfaction on that front has been building steadily since Trump launched military strikes on Iran in February, a conflict that has pushed gasoline and diesel prices sharply higher across the country.
The Iran War Drags On
Only 34% of respondents approved of the strikes on Iran, which have cut off a significant share of Middle East oil and gas production and threaten to push inflation higher in the U.S. and abroad as businesses pass rising fuel costs on to consumers. Trump initially said the war would last only a few weeks and framed the bombing campaign as necessary to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Earlier this month, he pledged the conflict would end “immediately after” the November election, but Tehran and its allies have shown no sign of standing down, and in recent weeks have threatened further disruptions to global oil markets.
Fully 82% of respondents — including nine in ten Democrats and three-quarters of Republicans — said they believed the war would likely continue for “an extended period of time,” a sign that even Trump’s own base has largely abandoned hope for a quick resolution.
A Volatile Four Days at the White House
The polling window captured an unusually turbulent stretch even by the standards of Trump’s second term. During the survey period, Trump barred three major news organizations from the White House, and mused publicly that the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts — named for slain President John F. Kennedy — could be torn down if his own name could not be added to it.
On the media front, Trump announced on Truth Social that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be banned from White House access “effective immediately,” accusing the outlets of reporting “FAKE NEWS” and warning that “other Fake News Media Outlets” would follow. The White House had not clarified by the time of the poll’s release whether the ban would revoke permanent press credentials or simply restrict access to select events. Asked about the timing, Trump told reporters, “It’s really just cumulative stories of the last two years. You get sick of it.”
The Kennedy Center dispute, meanwhile, has simmered since June, when a federal judge ordered Trump’s name removed from the building’s facade after ruling that only Congress could rename the congressionally chartered venue. Workers took the letters down under a court deadline, closing what one judge’s order called an unauthorized rebranding effort — though Trump’s handpicked board has continued pressing to reverse the decision on appeal.
Worse Than Biden’s Low
Trump’s 32% approval now sits below the lowest point recorded for his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, whose presidency was also marked by surging inflation. Biden’s approval bottomed out at 35% in late October 2024, shortly before he abandoned his reelection bid amid concerns about his age following a poor debate performance. Trump’s current standing also matches the low point of his first term, reached in December 2017.
The single-week drop from 35% to 32% is notably steep, and follows a period of modest recovery in mid-September, when Trump’s approval had ticked up to 35% from a prior low of 33% in the days following the Republican Party’s first-ever midterm nominating convention. That earlier survey found 63% of Americans, including four in ten Republicans, disapproved of Trump’s convention pledge to send Americans a $5,000 “Trump Dividend” if Republicans held Congress.
Democrats Open Their Widest Midterm Lead of the Year
The poll also found registered voters favoring Democrats over Republicans by 43% to 35% when asked how they would vote in November’s midterms — an eight-point gap that marks Democrats’ largest advantage in Reuters/Ipsos polling so far this year. For Republicans, losing control of either chamber of Congress could significantly complicate Trump’s legislative agenda for the remainder of his term.
The figures are consistent with other recent surveys. Generic congressional ballot polling compiled across multiple outlets in September 2026 has generally shown Democrats with a four- to eight-point national advantage, while polling averages place Trump’s approval in the high 30s to 40% range, with some individual surveys, including the Reuters/Ipsos series, running lower still. Forecasters at Decision Desk HQ and other election modelers have generally projected Democrats as favorites to retake the House, while Republicans remain favored, though not assured, to hold the Senate.
Immigration Remains a Bright Spot — But Only With His Base
Immigration continues to be Trump’s strongest issue among Republicans, with 79% of GOP respondents backing his approach. But support collapses outside the party: just 36% of Americans overall approve of his handling of immigration, while 55% disapprove. Some Republican allies in Congress have warned privately that Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign risks alienating voters with family members who immigrated to the U.S. recently, including segments of the Hispanic electorate.
Crime Policy Also Underwater
On crime, 35% of respondents approved of Trump’s approach to fighting it, compared with 50% who disapproved — another issue where the president’s numbers have failed to translate into broad public support despite remaining a frequent talking point in his public remarks and social media posts.
Methodology and Caveats
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online and gathered 1,277 responses from U.S. adults nationwide, with a margin of error of three percentage points. The congressional voting figures reflect a national snapshot of party preference rather than a forecast of individual House and Senate races, which will be shaped by state- and district-level dynamics not captured in a single national survey.
With 43 days remaining until the November 3 midterms, the poll suggests Trump enters the campaign’s final stretch weighed down by twin crises of affordability and an unresolved war — with even his own party no longer fully behind him on either.