President Donald Trump’s disapproval rating has hit a new high, according to The New York Times polling average this week, surging to 58 percent.
Previous surveys have also shown that the president’s job approval ratings have fallen, including those on the economy, potentially hurting the Republican Party’s chances of keeping both congressional chambers in the upcoming midterms this year.
In an email to Newsweek on Friday, White House Spokesman Davis Ingle sent a response he has repeated several times: “The ultimate poll was November 5th 2024 when nearly 80 million Americans overwhelmingly elected President Trump to deliver on his popular and commonsense agenda. No other President in history has accomplished more for the American people than President Trump, who is working tirelessly to create jobs, cool inflation, increase housing affordability, and more.
“The President has already made historic progress not only in America but around the world, and this is just the beginning as his agenda continues taking effect.”
Why It Matters
Several recent surveys have also shown record or near‑record lows for Trump among key blocs, including Gen Z and independent voters, potentially compounding headwinds for the White House and GOP amid public concern over the cost of living and the war with Iran.
What To Know
According to the Times polling average, Trump’s disapproval rating was 56 percent on Monday and jumped to 58 percent on Tuesday. It has remained there since.
The president’s disapproval mark has gradually grown since his January 2025 inauguration. The Times average shows that on January 27, 2025, his approval rating was 52 percent, with a disapproval rating of 43 percent. On March 12 of last year, Trump’s approval and disapproval marks were 48 percent. The following day, his approval rating was in the negative, and it has remained that way since, according to the average.
“There’s nothing a whole lot new here,” Grant Davis Reeher, a professor of political science at Syracuse University, told Newsweek via email on Friday. “This has been a pretty clear trend for the president, but I don’t know what kind of thing could reverse it dramatically at this point. His public perception is largely baked in. There are several unpopular policy initiatives that can only be walked back so much.
“If there was a good overall outcome in Iran, meaning it was clear that the regime had been damaged, and that its capacity for nuclear advancement was halted, and that access to the shipping lanes were completely restored, that might help a bit. If that were joined with the economy showing more improvement, meaning that prices fell, jobs stayed strong, and the market stabilized into solid growth, that could get him to just above 50% perhaps, if ICE’s aggressiveness were pared back and he stepped back from the many instances of self-aggrandizement that people are tiring of (ballroom, coins, arches, etc.),” Reeher added.
“But the country is so politically polarized, that there is a hard cap on how popular he can be. He cannot do over the first 16 months, unfortunately.”
Recent polls also show Trump’s approval rating dipping with young Americans.
Former Republican Congresswomen Marjorie Taylor Greene reacted to a poll among young Americans on X Friday, saying, “Any Republican that wants a future with Gen Z support better distance themselves from Trump. He has failed them.”
The president’s approval rating has also steadily dropped since taking office, the Times average shows. On Friday, his approval mark is 39 percent, down from his peak of over 50 percent shortly after he took office for his second term.
Update 4/24/26, 6:04 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Reeher.
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