US Politics
Trump’s approval rating sinks to 40%, the lowest of his term, new poll finds
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President Donald Trump’s approval rating has dropped one percentage point, to 40 percent, the lowest yet of his second presidential term, according to a fresh poll.
The new Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was completed on Monday and surveyed 1,023 American adults, showed the nation continues to be sharply split on Trump’s performance since his inauguration. Around 83 percent of Republicans only three percent of Democrats approved of his performance, with only a third of independents approving of his actions.
It’s not all bad for Trump; 38 percent of respondents approved of his handling of the economy, up from 35 percent in mid-July. Another 43 percent approved of his immigration policies, compared to only 41 percent a few weeks ago.
But elsewhere, Trump is taking hits, including among one of his core voter demographics: men.
According to a poll by CBS/YouGov released last week, Trump’s approval rating is tanking with men during his second term. It found 47 percent of men approve of the job Trump is doing, while 53 percent do not.
In October — just before Trump’s second electoral victory — a similar CBS/YouGov poll found that 54 percent of men supported Trump and 64 percent said they thought he would be a strong leader.
The drop overall reflects a broader disapproval with Trump’s second term; DecisionDeskHQ’s polling averages show the president’s overall approval rating was down by about 12 points since January, a drop from 56 percent to 44 percent this week.
According to the new CBS/YouGov poll, 47 percent of men said Trump was focusing “too much” on deportations, while 33 percent said he was showing the “right amount” of focus. In another metric, 65 percent of men said Trump has not done enough to lower prices, and only 29 percent said they felt he had.
Another poll, administered by Gallup last week, put Trump’s approval rating at 37 percent — the lowest he’s been for that specific poll.
The three key issues driving down Trump’s approval rating were the major issues that attracted men to Trump in the first place, according to the poll. That could spell trouble for Republicans come the midterm elections if they do not adjust their focus and messaging before the election.
Trump’s dipping approval ratings comes at a difficult time for Republicans, as some stalwart supporters among his voter base and within his party are questioning the president, over his handling of the so-called “Epstein files.”
The president promised to be transparent about what the government knew of disgraced New York financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — a man who had a long and well-documented prior friendship with Trump.
After U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced she had the so-called Epstein “client list” on her desk, the administration backtracked and insisted no such file existed. It also confirmed previous rulings that Epstein died by suicide in his New York jail cell while awaiting trial for child sex trafficking.
