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Trump Voters Turn Away From President as Approval Rating Hits New Low
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AUG 31, 2026 AT 06:00 PM EDT
Some of President Donald Trump’s voters are turning away from him, as his approval rating reached a record low in the new University of Massachusetts Amherst poll released on Monday.
Trump’s approval rating has major implications for the Republican Party in the midterms as it finds itself on the defensive in key races to control the House of Representatives and the Senate. The president’s popularity has waned since his return to office last year amid voter frustration over the economy, inflation and the unpopular war in Iran.
Historically, when the president’s approval rating is low, his party loses seats in the midterms. Such was the case in 2018, when Republicans suffered losses in Trump’s first midterm. Democrats believe his approval slipping to new lows could allow them to expand the battleground into more traditionally conservative states like Texas.
One in 6 Trump 2024 Voters Wouldn’t Vote for Him Again
The new UMass poll found that 84 percent of Trump’s voters would vote for him again if the presidential election were held again, compared with about 94 percent of those who voted for Democratic former Vice President Kamala Harris, who said they would vote for her again.
But many of those disaffected Trump voters would not necessarily cross parties to support Harris. Only 2 percent said they would vote for the former Democratic candidate, while 7 percent said they would vote for a third party and 7 percent simply would not vote at all if the election were held again.
Among those who did not vote in 2024, only 20 percent said they would vote for Trump if the election were held again, compared to 27 percent who would vote for Harris and 14 percent who would vote for a third party. Forty percent would still not vote, the poll found.
Meanwhile, Trump’s net approval rating fell to a new low of -32 points in the poll. Thirty-two percent of respondents said they approved of his job performance, while 64 percent disapproved. That’s a decline from a -29 point net approval in March 2026 and a -20 net approval rating in July 2025 in UMass Amherst polling.
Tatishe Nteta, provost professor of political science at UMass Amherst and director of the poll, wrote in the memo that the “clock is ticking for President Trump and the Republican Party to offer solutions to the nation’s most pressing problems.”
“A failure to do so will likely result not only in a continued decline in the President’s approval rating but could also put Republican control of the House of Representatives and possibly the U.S. Senate increasingly at risk,” he said.
The poll surveyed 1,000 respondents from August 21 to 26, 2026 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Donald Trump’s Approval Rating: What Other Polls Show
The president’s approval rating has fallen in many polls as the midterms approach.
A Morning Consult poll offered less of a grim picture for Republicans but still found him underwater at -14 points, 41 percent approving and 55 percent disapproving of the president’s job performance. It surveyed 2,203 registered voters from August 28 to 30, 2026, according to The New York Times.
A Quantus Insights poll showed Trump's net approval at -15 points, with 42 percent approving and 57 percent disapproving. It surveyed 1,200 likely voters from August 26 to 28, 2026 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
Trump’s approval stood at -21 points in the latest poll from YouGov and The Economist, which found 36 percent approving and 57 percent disapproving of his job performance. It surveyed 1,536 adults from August 21 to 24, 2026, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Meanwhile, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed his approval at -32 points, with 65 percent disapproving of Trump and 33 percent approving. The poll surveyed 1,215 adults from August 21 to 24, 2026.
Trump Calls Out ‘Fake Polls’
Trump has criticized polls showing his approval rating has fallen in recent weeks. On August 30, the president hit back at polls in a post on Truth Social.
“THE FAKE POLLS USED BY OUR CROOKED MEDIA ARE OUT OF CONTROL, AND SOMETHING MUST BE DONE ABOUT IT. FCC TO THE RESCUE! President DJT,” he wrote.
A White House spokesperson pointed to that post when reached for comment by Newsweek.
On August 24, he wrote that Democrats are “going CRAZY with Fake Polls.”
“They’re putting them out at levels never seen before. They’re called, ‘Demoralization Operations,’ where they try to demoralize Republicans so that they don’t go out and vote — But the actual Polls are tremendous, and the Spirit in our Country has never been higher,” Trump wrote.
Economy Behind Trump Approval Slump
Trump’s approval rating decline comes as Americans remain dissatisfied with the economy.
CNN data analyst Harry Enten said in a video posted to X on Monday that inflation was the “key reason” Trump was elected. He pointed to Ipsos polling showing that in August 2024, Trump was more trusted on inflation than Harris by 12 points among independents; in the latest polling, the president's approval on inflation among independents stood at -64 points.
“You don’t see changes like this,” Enten said. “But the key issue that got him reelected, now he’s way down there in the Gulf of Mexico.”
The UMass Amherst poll released on Monday found that only 22 percent of Americans believe Trump has handled inflation either very or somewhat well, while 75 percent said he has handled the matter not too well or not well at all.
On jobs, 31 percent said he has handled the matter at least somewhat well, but 63 percent said he has handled it not too well or not well at all, according to the poll.
The latest poll from YouGov and The Economist also showed growing dissatisfaction with the economy. It found that 39 percent of Americans trust Democrats more on the economy, while 32 percent trust Republicans more on the issue.
Only 3 percent of respondents described the economy as in “excellent” condition, while 21 percent said it is in good condition. Thirty-three percent described the economy as fair, while 40 percent said it is poor.
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Americans were not optimistic about the economy's future, the poll found. Fifty-seven percent said it is getting worse, while 14 percent said it is getting better.
Gas prices have also become a sticking point for the president, as they have surged during the Iran war due to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passageway for the global oil supply.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Sam Wilson.
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