Trump approval – President Donald Trump’s job approval fell to its weakest level in either of his White House terms, with 31% approving and 64% disapproving in a mid-May 2026 American Research Group survey. Economic pessimism is even deeper, and independent voters remain heavi
By mid-May 2026. President Donald Trump’s standing with the public had slipped into numbers he hasn’t seen before—at least in polling tracked across his two White House terms. In the span of a year. the gap between approval and disapproval has widened dramatically. and the economy is at the center of the drop.
A new American Research Group survey, conducted in mid-May 2026, found 31 percent of Americans approve of the way Trump is handling his job, while 64 percent disapprove. Five percent are undecided. The poll’s topline shows his weakest showing across both terms in office.
The dissatisfaction is not confined to one slice of the electorate. Independent voters remain strongly negative, with just 25 percent approving and the rest disapproving in the survey.
Economic ratings are weaker still, and that’s where the numbers carry the most political weight. The poll found only 29 percent of Americans approve of how Trump is handling the economy, while 67 percent disapprove. Among registered voters, economic approval rises marginally to 30 percent, with 66 percent disapproving.
The approval collapse also marks a shift in momentum over time. In March 2025, Trump’s net approval rating—approval minus disapproval—was -6. By May 2026, that net figure had fallen to -34. The pattern has been consistent: in May 2025, 41 percent approved and 55 percent disapproved. By October 2025, the gap widened significantly.
One reason the current numbers stand out is their breadth. Approval doesn’t only soften—it appears across categories. with independents delivering a particularly negative picture and economic pessimism showing up as a dominant theme. When economic views slide for large majorities, it can reshape how voters weigh everything else.
The survey was based on 1,100 completed interviews conducted among a nationwide random sample of adults between May 16 and May 20, 2026. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. Among registered voters, the overall job approval numbers are nearly identical to the national figure: 31 percent approve and 65 percent disapprove.
Trump’s second term began with relatively stable approval, but sustained economic dissatisfaction has steadily eroded support across much of the electorate, according to the long downward pattern described by the poll’s results.
Donald Trump approval rating American Research Group 2026 midterms economy independents public opinion White House