Trump Approval Rating Hits New Low Amid Epstein, Affordability Fallout—Poll

[Thiệu Ngô]

President Donald Trump's approval rating has hit the lowest point of his second term, according to polling by Reuters/Ipsos published on Tuesday.

By Andrew Stanton and Jason Lemon

Why It Matters

Trump's approval carries critical implications for the Republican Party ahead of the 2026 midterms. Democrats are hoping that the president's low approval rating will bolster their chances in critical races across the country as they work to win back control of the House and Senate, as well as local races.

Democrats are increasingly optimistic about their odds next year following a string of recent Democratic victories in off-year elections.

Trump's approval ratings have generally declined since his return to the White House in January, according to polls. The decline in his support comes amid ongoing concerns about the economy—a critical issue for millions of Americans—as well as bipartisan backlash to his handling of the case into Jeffrey Epstein.

What To Know

Trump's approval rating fell to its lowest point so far during his second term in office, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, dropping to 38 percent from 40 percent earlier this month.

The new polling, conducted from November 14 to 17, included 1,017 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 points.

Furthermore, only 26 percent said Trump is doing a good job at managing the cost of living, a 3-point decline from 29 percent earlier in November. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of respondents, including a third of Republicans, disapprove of the president's performance handling the cost of living.

The poll found that Trump's support among Republicans has also fallen to 82 percent from 87 percent earlier in the month.

His position on the Epstein files has alienated some of his supporters. After Trump indicated on the campaign trail that he would support the release of documents related to Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in 2019 while awaiting sex trafficking charges, he and his administration have faced bipartisan criticism for not following through.

Trump has said he would sign into law a bill passed by the House of Representatives that would compel the release of the files. It has not yet passed the Senate.

On Tuesday, RealClearPolitics showed Trump with an average approval rating of -11.4. Their aggregate showed Trump's disapproval entering the double digits earlier in November, where it has stayed throughout the month. The latest poll from YouGov and The Economist showed Trump's approval as -16 (56 percent disapproving to 40 percent approving).

The survey showed that just 20 percent of respondents approved of Trump's handling of the files tied to Epstein, while 59 percent disapproved and 21 percent were unsure. Notably, less than half (44 percent) of Republicans said they approve of the president's handling of the issue, while nearly a third (31 percent) disapprove, and a quarter are unsure.

What People Are Saying

Pollster Nate Silver wrote on X: "Predictions that Trump has entered some inexorable state of political decline have a really terrible track record. However, 2nd terms often behave much differently than 1st terms, and Trump has had a really rough stretch."

CNN data analyst Harry Enten wrote on X: "Trump usually has his finger on the pulse of the GOP base, but not on the Epstein files. His approval was south of 50% on the issue. 67% of the GOP wanted all the files released. And his problem wasn't going away. Highest Google search traffic for Epstein was this past week."

Vox journalist Andrew Prokop wrote on X: "Most people tell a story of Trump's approval being cooked by Liberation Day in April, but it had almost fully recovered by early June. It's the summer that seems to have sent Trump's approval down in a more enduring way. And then he fell further in late October."