Two-thirds of Americans say that the country is "pretty seriously off on the wrong track," while just under a third say the country is moving in the right direction, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted using Ipsos' KnowledgePanel.
By Emily Guskin
Overall, Americans seem unhappy and anxious, with a slim majority saying the economy has gotten worse since President Donald Trump took office and majorities saying that both major parties and the president are out of touch. A majority of Americans are also growing increasingly concerned over the government shutdown.
Far more Democrats (95%) and independents (77%) say the country is "pretty seriously off on the wrong track" than Republicans (29%), along with larger shares of Black (87%), Hispanic (71%) and Asian (71%) Americans than white Americans (61%). Majorities of Americans in urban, suburban and rural areas say the country is moving in the wrong direction, as well as those with varying levels of education and income.
Although 67% say the country is moving in the wrong direction, that is a decrease from November 2024, when 75% said the same in the lead-up to the presidential election.
About 6 in 10 Americans blame Trump for the current rate of inflation while more than 6 in 10 disapprove of how Trump is handling tariffs, the economy and managing the federal government; majorities also disapprove on how he is handling several other issues.
And 64% of Americans say Trump is "going too far" in trying to expand the power of the presidency.
Nearly half of Americans (48%) say America’s leadership in the world has gotten weaker under Trump, while a third (33%) say it has gotten stronger and about 2 in 10 say it is the same (18%) -- numbers that have not shifted significantly during his second term.
Though it's still a year from until the midterm elections, Americans’ negative ratings on the state of the country, the economy and the president do not bode well for the president’s party in congressional election voting.
Economy
A slim 52% majority of Americans say the economy has gotten worse since Trump became president while 27% say the economy has improved and 20% say it has stayed the same. The share saying the economy is "much worse" outweighs the share saying it is "much better" by almost 3-to-1, 26% vs. 9%.
While the share saying the economy is better overall has increased from April by 6 percentage points, the share saying it is worse has barely shifted. Fewer say it is the "same" now (20%) than in April (25%).
Nearly 6 in 10 of those with household incomes under $50,000 say the economy is worse since Trump became president (57%).
About 6 in 10 Americans blame Trump for the current rate of inflation, including about a third who say he bears a "great deal" of blame, compared with 4 in 10 who say he does not bear much responsibility for inflation.
Majorities of Democrats (92%) and independents (66%) say Trump is to blame for the current rate of inflation, along with 20% of Republicans. Majorities across income groups say Trump is to blame for inflation.
The share of Americans saying they are "not as well off" financially than when Trump became president outweighs the share saying they are "better off" by about 2-to-1, 37% to 18%. A 45% plurality says their finances are "about the same."
Trump approval
Trump’s disapproval rating has ticked up over the course of the year and he is underwater on that and on key issues measured in the ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll.
In all, 59% of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling his job as president while 41% approve, putting him 18 percentage points underwater for net approval, similar to where he was in an April poll (16 points underwater) and worse than the beginning of his second term in February (8 points underwater).
Currently, Trump’s strong disapproval rating outweighs his strong approval rating by more than 2-to-1, 46% to 20%.
Trump issue approval
Majorities of Americans also disapprove of how Trump is handling every issue measured in the poll. Over 6 in 10 disapprove of how Trump is handling tariffs, the economy and managing the federal government. About 6 in 10 disapprove of how he is handling the situation involving Russia and Ukraine and relations with other countries. More than half disapprove of how he is handling immigration, crime and the situation with Israel and Gaza. He does not have approval from most Americans on a single issue measured.
More say they are doing better now than in April, when 10% said they were better off.
Trump’s approval rating peaks on handling the situation with Israel and Gaza: 46% approve and 52% disapprove -- better than his September ratings, when 39% approved and 58% disapproved in a Post-Ipsos poll. Notably, Trump helped negotiate a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel since that September poll.
His approval ratings on other issues have either worsened or remained stable. He currently has his worst numerical rating on handling the economy over his two terms as president, with 37% approving and 62% disapproving. Trump’s approval rating on the economy peaked in March 2020 with 57% approving of how he was handling the issue and 38% disapproving. A majority has disapproved of his handling of the economy since February 2025.
Trump’s approval rating on managing the federal government has also declined, according to the poll.
The president’s ratings on immigration, tariffs, crime, relations with other countries, Russia and Ukraine and crime have barely budged since September’s Post-Ipsos poll.
Majorities of Americans also say Trump is "going too far" trying to expand the power of the presidency (64%), laying off government employees to cutting the size of the federal workforce (57%), sending the National Guard to patrol U.S. cities (55%) and trying to make changes in how U.S. colleges and universities operate (54%).
And roughly half say he’s going too far trying to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the government and private workplaces (51%), deporting undocumented immigrants (50%), closing pathways for immigrants to legally remain (50%) and enter (48%) the United States and trying to end efforts to increase diversity in government and private workplaces (47%).
Americans are split over how much Trump has accomplished during his presidency, with 48% saying he has done at least "a good amount" and 51% saying he has done "not very much," "little or nothing."
Among those who say Trump has accomplished a good amount or more in the last nine months, more say that what he did was good for the country rather than bad for it -- just about 4 in 10 Americans overall.
Midterms
Negative ratings for an incumbent president are not positive indicators for his party come midterm elections.
A year out from the 2026 midterms, voters are largely split between supporting the Democratic and Republican candidates, with 46% of registered voters saying they would support the Democratic candidate if the U.S. House of Representatives election were being held today, and 44% supporting the Republican candidate. Among the broader population of U.S. adults, 42% said they would support the Democratic candidate and 39% said they would support the Republican.
In a November 2021 ABC News/Washington Post poll, a year before the 2022 midterms, voters had a 10-percentage-point preference for Republican candidates, and Republicans won the House. In a November 2017 ABC News/Washington Post poll, voters had an 11-percentage-point preference for Democratic candidates. And in 2018, Democrats won the House.
Crime
More Americans see crime as a serious problem in large U.S. cities than where they live or the U.S. overall. About 6 in 10 Americans say crime is either "extremely" (29%) or "very" (32%) serious in large U.S. cities, while about half say crime is serious in the U.S. overall and just under 2 in 10 say the same for the areas where they live.
The share saying crime in the U.S. is "extremely" serious (17%) is down from 2023 and 2024 when about a quarter of Americans said the same, according to Gallup polling.
Just 8% of Americans say crime is extremely serious where they live, a figure that has remained in the single digits since Gallup began tracking it in 2000 -- but numerically higher than it has been in the years since then.
Republicans are far more likely to say crime in large U.S. cities is "extremely serious" (42%) than Democrats (17%) or independents (27%).
ICE and National Guard
Americans are split over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detaining and deporting undocumented immigrations in the U.S. overall, in large cities and where they live.
About 6 in 10 Republicans "strongly" support the ICE surge in the U.S., large cities and where they live, while about two-thirds of Democrats strongly oppose them. More independents oppose expanded ICE deportations than support them.
Roughly 6 in 10 Americans (57%) say that ICE and Homeland Security agents should not be allowed to wear masks or face coverings while on duty, while about 4 in 10 (41%) say it should be allowed. Majorities of Democrats (88%) and independents (64%) say it should not be allowed while a majority of Republicans (77%) say agents should be allowed to cover their faces while on duty.
A similar share of Americans (58%) say that a U.S. president should not be able to order the National Guard into a state over the objections of that state's governor; 40% say a U.S. president should be allowed to. About 9 in 10 Democrats and two-thirds of independents say this should not be allowed; 8 in 10 Republicans say the president should be able to send the National Guard into a state even if its governor objects.
Trump on international issues
Nearly half of Americans (47%) say Trump is spending "about the right amount of time" on international crises, while around one-third say he’s spending "too much time" (32%) and about 2 in 10 say he is spending "too little time" on international crises (19%).
Just about 4 in 10 say Trump deserves "a great deal" or "a good amount" of credit for the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas (39%) and just over 4 in 10 say he deserves "just some credit" or "none" (43%).
On Russia and Ukraine, 46% say Trump is "too supportive of Russia," 8% say he is "too supportive of Ukraine" and 41% say he is handling it about right.
Politically motivated violence
By 34% to 28%, more Americans blame the Republican Party than the Democratic Party for politically motivated violence in the U.S. with another 28% saying they are both equally to blame and 9% saying neither is to blame.
Since 2022, more Americans have blamed the Republican Party for political violence than the Democratic Party, according to the poll.
