Trump approval rating falls to career low in new poll
President Trump's approval drops to 31% in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll as early voting begins, with Democrats holding a 12-point lead on the generic congressional ballot.
President Donald Trump's approval rating has fallen to a new career low, with less than one-third of Americans approving of his job performance, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released Oct. 19.
The poll found Trump's approval rating at 31% — a one-point dip from his previous career low recorded two weeks ago and the lowest mark of either of his terms in Reuters/Ipsos tracking. The four-day survey polled 1,679 U.S. adults and has a 2-percentage-point margin of error.
The president's sinking approval rating comes as early voting has begun in several states ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Republicans face an uphill battle to maintain slim majorities in Congress. Democrats are currently ahead of the GOP by 12 percentage points in a new generic congressional ballot — the widest lead the party has held in Reuters/Ipsos tracking this election cycle.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll is not an outlier. Two other surveys released on Oct. 18 confirmed the trend. A Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll put Trump at 33% approval — an 8-point drop from October 2025 and a record low for that pollster — and found Democrats, for the first time in a decade, were more trusted on the economy than Republicans.
An NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll released the same day recorded Trump at 34% approval, with 51% of respondents "strongly disapproving" of the president's job performance. Among Latino voters — a key demographic that shifted toward Trump in 2024 — approval sat at just 31%. A striking 71% of respondents said the country was on the "wrong track," up 10 percentage points from April 2025.
Broader polling averages confirm the slide. As of Oct. 19, the RealClearPolitics average showed Trump at 38.9% approval and 59.3% disapproval. The New York Times polling average had him at 37% approval and 61% disapproval, while Nate Silver's Silver Bulletin average showed 37.5% approval and 59.9% disapproval.
The president enters the final stretch of the midterm campaign with a worsening political landscape shaped by the Iran war, rising fuel prices, and bipartisan anger over his decision to waive sanctions on Russia.
Reporting by USA Today. Read the original report: Trump approval rating falls to career low in new poll.
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