As President Donald Trump’s approval rating is as low as it’s ever been, the portion of those who strongly disapprove has ticked up to a career high in a new CNN/SSRS poll published July 29.
The poll found 34% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s job performance overall, matching the career low he reached after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots, while 66% disapprove. Among those, a record low of only 15% approve of him strongly, compared to 50% who disapprove strongly, a high across his terms, according to CNN. The poll was conducted July 23-27 among 1,225 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.
Support from his own party has also slipped, according to the poll, which found a low of 78% of Republicans approve of him and 19% say they’re enthusiastic for the rest of his term, down from 38% last spring.
Part of these low ratings could be the feeling among voters that Trump hasn’t put his effort behind the right issues. Seventy-three percent of respondents, a record-high per CNN, said Trump hasn’t paid enough attention to the most important issues in this country, compared to 27% who think he has the right priorities.
The Iran war has long been controversial even among his base, as he ran on a platform to focus on the economy and avoid starting new, lengthy wars. But the global oil supply chain disruptions resulting from the war, now five months in, have pushed up gas prices and inflation. Trump has said the war in Iran would be worth the rising costs.
“I’m one day in office and the fake news goes, ‘affordability,'” Trump said at a rally in Michigan on July 27. “We’re fighting to put more money in your pockets and that’s what we’re doing and we’re doing it better than anyone.”
CNN/SSRS poll shows low approval on inflation, gas prices
Though Trump promises to make prices better, 71% of the CNN/SSRS poll respondents said Trump hasn’t gone far enough to reduce the price of common goods, compared to 58% who thought that a year ago.
The poll found majorities both think Trump’s policies have made the economic conditions worse in this country (65%) and his decisions in Iran have hurt the U.S. (67%). On gas prices, 74% of Americans say the rising cost has caused them at least some hardship, compared to 63% in March. Less than a quarter think Trump has a plan to address the issue, according to CNN.
Among other issues, Trump receives his best rating on voting rights and election integrity (41%). On July 16, Trump dedicated a primetime address to election security, but on the findings from the 2020 election, which he maintains was rigged despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. His other better issues, CNN reports, are his handling of immigration (39% approval) and management of the federal government (35% approval).
“While his ratings are underwater across a range of issues tested, Trump sees his lowest numbers on a trio of interconnected issues,” CNN reported. “Just 28% approve of his handling of the situation in Iran, 25% on inflation and 21% on gas prices, with significant pockets of disapproval even among his supporters.”
What is Trump’s average approval rating?
Trump’s average approval rating has been net negative since April of his first year back in office and fluctuating, but creeping more into the red, since. Here is Trump’s average approval rating as of July 29 according to aggregators:
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X (Twitter), Threads, Bluesky and TikTok.