President Donald Trump's approval rating dropped below 30 percent for the first time across both his White House terms Monday, as the midterms draw closer. The new poll, from American Research Group conducted September 16-20 among 1,100 American adults, showed the president with a 29 percent overall approval rating, with positive views on the economy at 26 percent. Overall, 72 percent of those surveyed said they felt the U.S. economy was getting worse, amid rising gas and grocery prices, despite the Trump administration's insistence that those pressures are still largely down to the previous administration.
By comparison, other recent polls have generally shown Trump with approval in the mid-to-high 30s, although that has differed depending on policy areas. The last time a president's approval was in the 20s was President George W. Bush at the end of 2008, per Gallup's presidential approval tracker.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment Monday morning. The ARG survey released Monday showed 68 percent of voters disapproved of the job Trump was doing, up 2 percent on the survey in August. On the economy, views were less favorable, with 71 percent disapproving of the president's handling, up from 69 percent the previous month.
Just 6 percent of those surveyed said they expected the economy to improve over the next year, while 70 percent predicted it would be worse. These figures could be seen as the greater blow to a president who has often touted his economic policies and promised Americans a "golden age." Personal finances in particular appeared to be an area of concern for those surveyed. Fewer than 20 percent viewed their household finance positively, compared to the 75 percent viewing them negatively.
In February 2025, shortly after Trump's return to the White House, nearly half of Trump's approvers believed the economy would improve, meaning that optimism has largely vanished. According to Gallup's tracking of presidential approval ratings dating back decades, the last time a president's rating fell below 30 percent was during the global financial crisis of 2008, when Bush was coming under increasing scrutiny in the lead up to the election that year. On average, over their terms, President Barack Obama had a 48 percent approval rating, with President Joe Biden on around 42.2 percent.
During his first and second terms, Trump has averaged around 41 percent. When he left the White House the first time, he was on around 34 percent. This is a breaking news story.
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