Trump’s Approval Craters to 30% as Republicans Flee and Voters Fume Over Prices
A new poll shows Trump at his lowest approval yet while Democrats lead House races. Republicans are running from him as the midterms loom.
President Donald Trump’s approval rating has sunk to its lowest point on record, with a new poll showing only 30% of Americans approve of his performance while 68% disapprove — a four-point drop since July [261006]. The same survey finds Democrats now leading Republicans in House vote preference, and at least half of Americans describe every major household purchase category as “unaffordable” [265316].
The numbers have triggered panic across the Republican Party with just weeks to go before the November 3 midterm elections. Multiple sources cited by Politico say top Republican figures no longer believe the party will keep its majority in the House of Representatives, and are now pinning their hopes on holding the Senate instead [264939].
Republicans in competitive races are publicly distancing themselves from the president. In Maine, Senator Susan Collins touted her record of voting against Trump 137 times this year and criticized his “poorly planned” war in Iran and his tariffs on Canada [261006]. In Georgia, Republican candidate Rick Jackson — who once called himself “Trump’s favorite governor” — now says he owes nothing to anyone and aligns himself with outgoing Governor Brian Kemp [261006]. One source told CNN flatly: “Trump is sinking the party” [261006].
The president’s troubles extend even into his strongest territory. In West Virginia, one of the most Republican states in the country, rising gas prices, war in the Middle East, and the growth of data centers are testing Trump’s popularity even among his most loyal supporters, and local Democrats see an opening [262822].
Trump has tried to fight back. He is touring the country with daily campaign events, and Trump-aligned groups along with Elon Musk have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the midterms. Yet the huge spending surge has barely moved the polls or the electoral map [264369].
His latest move — a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin that lifts sanctions on Russia in an attempt to lower diesel prices — has sparked outrage from senators in both parties. A joint statement from Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, and John Curtis along with Democrats Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal, and Ron Wyden said the decision “directly violates” the law banning Russian energy imports and demanded the administration reverse course immediately [261006]. Experts say the deal covers only about a day and a half of U.S. diesel demand and is unlikely to significantly lower prices for consumers [261006].
Immigration enforcement is also driving defections. A Fox poll conducted September 11–14 with 1,211 registered voters found that 53% believed the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement had gone too far [261006]. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said mass deportations had gone too far. “Besides being politically foolish, in my opinion it is immoral,” he said [261006].
Democrats are pressing their advantage. The party is raising money fast for candidates who once seemed unlikely to win, while Republicans pull back from several competitive House districts [261751]. In Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton is running for the U.S. Senate in a state where Republicans have held Senate seats for decades — Kansas has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since the 1930s — and his campaign argues voters are tired of one-party rule [262954].
Further left, a new generation of activists inspired by Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani is drawing many young people into politics, and candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America hope to win key races on November 3 [262723]. Several major American cities could be governed by openly socialist leaders after the midterms, with candidates Nithya Raman and Janeese Lewis George running on promises to lower rent, make childcare cheaper, and remove U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from their cities [262444]. Sanders himself is investing in Republican-leaning states, rallying in Tampa for Angie Nixon, the underdog Democratic nominee for the Florida Senate [265131].
The economy remains the central issue. Voters oppose Trump’s handling of it, and the numbers tell the story: in September 2024, near the end of Joe Biden’s presidency, 65% of Republicans said the U.S. economy was getting worse. About six months later, after Trump launched a global trade war with his “liberation day” tariffs, that share fell to 33% [262897].