President Donald Trump's net approval rating in Tennessee is at its smallest margin during his entire second term.
Net approval is the difference between approval and disapproval ratings, and after months of the gap shrinking, it has finally reached just 1% in Tennessee. During his entire first term, Trump's lowest net approval in Tennessee was 9%.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, released on Sept. 1, reveals that 63% of respondents disapprove of Trump's decision to rename Lake Ontario to Lake of America, while only 14% support the change. Additionally, 57% of Americans surveyed oppose Trump's tariffs on Canada, compared to 20% who support them.
In another Reuters/Ipsos poll, released Aug. 31, 46% of self-identified Democrats said they were “very enthusiastic”
about voting in November, while only 31% of Republicans felt the same enthusiasm.
In the same poll, 36% of independents said they would vote for Democrats in November while 22% said they would vote for the GOP.
War with Iran hangs over Trump's term
U.S. forces launched a new round of strikes against Iran on Sept. 1 in retaliation for recent attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian strikes that were intercepted in Jordan.
The U.S. strikes, which began at 12 p.m. ET, mark an escalation in fighting that has resumed after a month-long pause in military actions. The U.S. Central Command did not identify the locations of the strikes in a statement but said they were carried out against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets.
In the most recent poll, only 36% of Americans said they approved of the Iran war, which has now been ongoing for more than six months.
What are Trump's approval ratings?
Silver Bulletin
Most recent Trump approval rating according to Pollster Nate Silver's “Silver Bulletin” newsletter (Sept. 2, 2026):
- Favorable: 38.2%
- Unfavorable: 58.0%
- Net Approval: -19.5
Rasmussen
Most recent Trump approval rating, according to the latest Rasmussen poll (Sept. 2, 2026):
- Favorable: 43%
- Unfavorable: 56%
- Net Approval: -13
New York Times
Most recent Trump approval rating, according to the latest New York Times poll (Sept. 2, 2026):
- Favorable: 38%
- Unfavorable: 58%
- Net Approval: -20
Civiqs
Most recent Trump approval rating according to the latest Civiqs poll (Sept. 1, 2026):
- Favorable: 35%
- Unfavorable: 59%
- Not sure: 6%
- Net Approval: -24
The Economist
Most recent Trump approval rating, according to the latest polling from The Economist (Sept. 1, 2026):
- Favorable: 35%
- Unfavorable: 61%
- Not sure: 5%
- Net Approval: -26
Reuters/Ipsos
Most recent Trump approval rating, according to the latest from the Reuters/Ipsos poll (Aug. 31, 2026):
- Favorable: 33%
- Unfavorable: 63%
- Net Approval: -30%
What is Trump's approval rating in Tennessee?
Civiqs polls, last updated Sept. 1, indicate Trump's approval in Tennessee has dropped since mid-August after a moderate drop in July.
Since late May, Trump's net approval, the difference between approval and disapproval ratings, has dropped to 1% after lingering around 2% since late July. Most recently, 46% of Tennessee residents approve of his performance, 45% disapprove, and 8% are neutral.
Trump's net approval in Tennessee began at 24% when he took office, declined to 7% by late 2025, and has not risen above 5% since May 5. During his first term, he started with a 17% net rating and ended with an 11% rating.
The polling numbers for Tennessee were also broken down by age, education, gender, race and party.
- Age: Adults ages 18-34 expressed the highest level of unfavorable views of Trump (61%), while those 65 and older were the most favorable (60%). Adults 50-64 followed closely behind at 58% approval.
- Education: Only non-college graduates have a positive approval rating for the president at 48%. Similarly, only 48% of college graduates disapprove, compared with 56% of postgraduates.
- Gender: Men and women are split slightly on Trump, with 49% of women disapproving and 51% of men expressing a positive view of the president.
- Party: Among political parties, Democrats and independents both disapprove of the president, at rates of 97% and 55%, respectively. Unsurprisingly, 77% of Republicans in the state approve of Trump's performance.
- Race: Results by race show that voters of color have a predominantly negative view of Trump. In Tennessee, 88% of Black voters and 58% of Hispanic/Latino voters disapprove. In contrast, Trump has a 53% approval rating among white voters and 48% among those identified as "other."
Jordan Green covers trending news for The Commercial Appeal and Tennessee. She can be reached at jordan.green@commercialappeal.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Trump's Tennessee approval rating hits record second-term low
