The White House confirmed Sept. 23 that President Donald Trump would be making his way to Knoxville to watch the No. 13 Tennessee (3-0) Volunteers take on the No. 1 Texas Longhorns (3-0) in Neyland Stadium on Sept. 26.
Immediately, social media users began flooding the comment sections of posts announcing Trump's visit, some in support of the president's plan to visit, others not so happy.
"NNNNNNOOOOOOO!!!" one commenter wrote. "Don’t want that thing here!!!!"
"Stay home cheeto," another said.
Those were just some of the nicer things people wrote.
Others are in support of Trump's visit. One comment said, "Finally a president who loves American football. I think it’s awesome."
So, what does the data say about Tennesseans' approval of Trump?
What are Trump's approval ratings in Tennessee?
In deep
red Tennessee, the Republican presidential candidate has won over the state in every election since 2000, but recent polls of Trump's approval rating in the state show his hold over the GOP is slipping with consistently low net approval ratings.
A rolling poll from Civiqs, which surveyed more than 130,000 registered voters across the country between Jan. 20, 2025, and Sept. 22, 2026, showed that Trump's net approval rating, the difference between approval and disapproval ratings, in Tennessee was -4%, a record low and a 28-point drop from when he took office for his second term.
Civiqs, which also breaks down polling by age, education, gender, race and party, shows that younger voters, ages 18-34, had a higher disapproval rating of Trump, at 65%, as did college graduates, at 51%, and voters with postgraduate degrees, at 58%.
Voters ages 50-64 and 65 and older both had higher approval ratings of Trump, at 58%, while non-college graduates approved of Trump at 46%.
The latest installment of the Beacon Poll, which surveyed 1,200 Tennessee voters on various issues, including their approval of Trump, also showed that the president had a negative net approval rating.
"President Trump’s job approval in Tennessee has gone underwater," Beacon said.
Beacon asked voters whether they approved or disapproved of the way Trump is handling the job of president. Trump's net approval rating based on Beacon was -3%, with 51% of voters disapproving and 48% approving.
Trump's national approval ratings
Trump's national approval ratings have also hit an all-time low.
Economist/YouGov Poll
A Sept. 22 poll from Economist/YouGov showed Trump's rating dropped 5% in just one week, despite having gained points in the same poll during the five previous weeks.
- Approve: 34%
- Disapprove: 61%
- Net Approval: -27%
New York Times
The New York Times' most recent Trump approval poll, from Sept. 22, shows the president's net approval rating is even lower than in its Sept. 17 poll.
- Approve: 37%
- Disapprove: 60%
- Net Approval: -23%
RealClearPolitics
A Sept. 22 poll from RealClearPolitics also showed Trump with a low approval rating.
- Approve: 39.5%
- Disapprove: 58.9%
- Net Approval: -19.4%
Silver Bulletin
Silver Bulletin's Sept. 23 poll says Trump has yet again hit an all-time low net approval rating.
- Approve: 37.4%
- Disapprove: 60.4%
- Net Approval: -23%
Afton Pratt covers trending and breaking news for Knox News and Tennessee. She can be reached at ampratt@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Trump headed to Knoxville for Tennessee-Texas. What are his latest approval ratings?
