Trump approval hits record second-term low: Survey

President Trump’s job approval rating sits at a second-term low in a new postelection survey, showing little sign of improvement after his party suffered widespread losses in the midterms.

In the new Economist/YouGov poll, 63 percent of Americans said they disapproved of Trump’s job performance, including 52 percent who disapproved strongly, with just 32 percent approving.

On the issues, foreign policy and the economy remain the president’s weak points. Sixty-one percent of respondents disapproved of Trump’s foreign policy and 67 percent disapproved of his handling of the economy, his worst issue surveyed.

Multiple figures in the Republican Party, including Vice President Vance, were quick to blame the Iran war for GOP losses last week. In the poll, 63 percent of respondents said they wanted the war to end immediately, something Democrats and even some Republicans campaigned on. The war has sent the prices of gas and diesel fuel skyrocketing, contributing to stubborn inflation.

The elevated prices have also made Americans increasingly pessimistic about the economy and its future.

In the poll, a majority of respondents — 55 percent — said the economy is getting worse, while only 13 percent said it was getting better. Seventy-four percent rated the economy either fair or poor.

Majorities in the survey said the cost of gas, food and housing have all gone up a lot. Zero percent of respondents said the cost of gas and food have gone down, after the president promised in his 2024 campaign to bring prices down immediately.

Voters gave Trump poor marks on other issues, too, including his pushes to remake Washington with new and renovated monuments. Fifty percent of respondents said Congress should not allow construction of the White House ballroom to continue, and 57 percent opposed the president’s proposed triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery.

And as corruption became a top issue for voters in the final stretch of the campaign, 60 percent of respondents in the Economist/YouGov survey said they think Trump is using his office for personal gain. A combined 82 percent said they believe most or many of the people running the government are corrupt.

With the midterms in the rearview mirror, both parties are beginning to look ahead to 2028 and identify potential White House candidates.

On the Republican side, Vance, with 40 percent support, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with 33 percent support, lead the pack.

The Democrats’ field appears to be wide open. Former Vice President Kamala Harris leads with 20 percent support, just ahead of Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), who has 15 percent. Ossoff won reelection last week by nearly 20 points, a notably large margin in battleground Georgia.

The Economist/YouGov survey was conducted among 1,685 U.S. citizens from Nov. 9 to 11. Its margin of error is 3 points.