Just weeks before the midterm elections, President Donald Trump's approval rating this month hit a new low in a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll.
The survey, released on Oct. 18, found 33% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s job performance while 66% disapprove of how he is handling the job. According to the Post-ABC poll, 52% of responders said that they strongly disapprove of Trump's performance as president.
The rating is Trump's lowest mark in the outlets' poll, down from 37% approval in similar surveys taken in April and July. The results nearly mirror a Fox News poll released Oct. 14 that marked the lowest approval rating for Trump in the network's polling during either of his two presidential terms.
The results come just over two weeks
until the midterm elections on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
According to the latest Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, also tallied last week on Oct. 15., 80% of those surveyed said they believe that the country needs "substantial change or complete and total upheaval in how it is run."
The economy/cost-of-living, handling of the Iran war and how it is impacting Americans' finances and health care concerns are among top issues concerning voters this fall, according to the AP/NORC poll.
Midterm elections are historically challenging for the party with a president in power. Democrats netted 41 House seats in the 2018 midterms in a "blue wave" and picked up two Senate seats in Arizona and Nevada during Trump's first term.
This year, Republicans face a competitive Senate race in numerous states including Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Texas, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
According to the Post-ABC survey, for the first time in more than a decade, Democrats are seen as more trustworthy on the economy than Republicans, at 40%-33%. Democrats also wield an eight-point lead for control of the House with registered voters, a five-point jump since the Post’s July poll showed a three-point advantage.
Registered voters also said they would choose Democrats, by 58% to 39%, over Republicans, to act as a check on Trump's White House. That margin has roughly doubled from this same timeframe last year.
Also of note, the number of Americans who say they believe that the nation is heading in the wrong direction (72%) has risen five points since April.
Trump approval ratings in other recent polls
Note: Polls are continually updated, and methodologies and the populations surveyed vary among pollsters.
New York Times
The most recent Trump approval rating, according to the latest New York Times poll (Oct. 19, 2026):
- Favorable: 37%
- Unfavorable: 61%
RMG Research
The most recent Trump approval rating, according to the latest RMG Research poll (Oct. 18, 2026):
- Favorable: 41%
- Unfavorable: 58%
Washington Post-ABC-IPSOS
The most recent Trump approval rating, according to the latest Post-ABC-IPSOS poll(Oct. 18, 2026):
- Favorable: 33%
- Unfavorable: 66%
Rasmussen
Most recent Trump approval rating, according to the latest Rasmussen poll (Oct. 16, 2026):
- Favorable: 43%
- Unfavorable: 56%
AP/NORC
Most recent Trump approval rating, according to the latest Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll:(Oct 15, 2026):
- Favorable: 36%
- Unfavorable: 64%
The Economist
The most recent Trump approval rating, according to The Economist (Oct. 12, 2026):
- Favorable: 38%
- Unfavorable: 60%
- Not sure: 1%
Fox News
The most recent Trump approval rating, according to Fox News(Oct. 12, 2026):
- Favorable: 36%
- Unfavorable: 64%
Contributing: USA Today Network
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: What is Donald Trump’s approval rating? See the latest polls
