New polling numbers from Gallup show that President Donald Trump’s approval rating dropped 5% compared to October, with even bigger drops in approval for his handling of immigration, the Middle East and the economy. It’s now at 36%.
This poll was conducted from Nov. 3 through Nov. 25, overlapping partially with the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. That shutdown ended Nov. 12, but it included economic blows for Americans, including missed paychecks for some federal workers and halted Supplemental Nutrition Assitance Program (SNAP) benefits for people in need.
“There has been a significant erosion in approval since February for Trump’s handling of immigration (-9 points), the situation in the Middle East (-7 points) and the economy (-6 points,” said Gallup. “Since March, Trump’s ratings have declined by double digits on the federal budget (-12 points) and the situation in Ukraine (-10 points).”
Earlier this week, Audacy reported on another poll from CBS/YouGov polling that found there is a disconnect between how Americans hear the White House describing the economy, and what they’re feeling themselves.” For example, 65% of participants in that survey said that the Trump administration’s policies are making grocery prices go up.
According to the new Gallup poll, Trump’s ratings from Republicans and independents have both dropped since last month. Among Republicans, it fell seven points to 84% and among independents it slipped eight points to 28%. Democrats’ approval of Trump was already in the low single digits in October and it remained there, at 3%, in November.
Although Republican approval for Trump fell, a vast majority of the party still supports the GOP president. Along with that, Gallup noted that “large majorities of Republicans, ranging from 67% to 88%,” approve of how Trump is handling nine key foreign and domestic issues: crime, foreign affairs, foreign trade, immigration, the economy, the situation in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians, the federal budget, the situation in Ukraine and healthcare policy.
Meanwhile, independents’ approval ratings range from 22% to 38%, while no more than 8% of Democrats approve of his handling of any of the issues. Overall healthcare policy, the situation in Ukraine, and the federal budget had the lowest ratings. He was rated highest on crime at 43%, followed by foreign affairs at 41% and foreign trade at 38%.
Prior to this approval rating decline, Gallup reported months of stability regarding the president’s approval rating, which was previously hovering at 40% to 41%. It previously clocked a second-term low point in July at 37%. During Trump’s first term, his lowest approval rating came in at 34%, just at the end of his presidency, after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
Trump’s administration has worked hard to push blame for economic issues and the government shutdown on Democrats. In a Saturday Truth Social post, the president also championed his controversial tariff plans and other economic markers.
“Tariffs have made our Country Rich, Strong, Powerful, and Safe,” said Trump. “They have been successfully used by other Countries against us for Decades, but when it comes to Tariffs, and because of what I have set in place, WE HAVE ALL THE CARDS, and with a smart President, we always will! Wars have been stopped, and stronger relationships with other countries have been built, even though they are not allowed to rip off the United States anymore. The Stock Market and 401k’s have hit an all time high, Inflation, Prices and Taxes are DOWN.”
However, data shows that Americans are still feeling the weight of economic pressure. When that happens, people tend to look to those in power for help and relief, said John Couvillon, political analyst, pollster and founder of JMC Analytics and Polling during an interview earlier this month with Newell Normand of Audacy’s WWL Radio.
“You as an incumbent party, you get punished for having a bad economy, but you don’t get a requisite amount of credit if things are going well,” he said. “So, it’s kind of a case of you kind of playing, I guess, a little bit of defense here where you just want to make sure that you can get interest rates and or inflation down in time for the midterms.”