President Donald Trump is facing some of the worst job approval numbers of his presidency as he seeks to crack down on independent reporting of his administration.
Reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico regained access to the White House just after noon on Thursday, Sept. 24, after a federal judge ordered their return following Trump's Sept. 18 ban on the outlets reporting at the White House.
Meanwhile, the latest polling shows Trump with some of the lowest approval ratings he's received.
A Sept. 16-20 American Research Group poll showed just 29% approval and disapproval ratings of68%. In a Sept. 18-21 Economist/YouGov poll, Trump saw a 62% disapproval rating — and 58% disapproval of his ban on the three networks from the White House. In Michigan,
a Sept. 22 Civiqs poll found a 58% disapproval rating of Trump's job performance.
Real Clear Politics, which aggregates data from numerous polls, shows Trump's average approval rating as of Sept. 24 was 38.9% — 20.9 percentage points below his average disapproval rating and down from earlier in September.
Trump has not had a RCP approval rating average higher than his disapproval average since March 2025 when it was at 48.3% — 0.2 of a percentage point higher than his disapproval number.
Here's what to know about Trump's latest approval ratings.
Did Trump ban journalists from the White House?
President Donald Trump banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from reporting at the White House on Sept. 18, though the three news outlets regained access to the White House on Thursday, Sept. 24, following a court order.
The three outlets sued on Sept. 21 and U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, in an early morning Sept. 24 ruling in the case, ordered the White House to to reinstate the journalists' credentials for just 14 days while the case moves forward.
Reporters from the three outlets were again denied access to the White House Thursday morning, Sept. 24, following Kelly's ruling, prompting the outlets to file a request for an emergency hearing with Kelly. In response, Kelly ordered the Trump administration to respond by 12:30 p.m. ET.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico announced that their reporters were let back in the White House just after noon.
How did the American Research Group poll rank Trump?
American Research Group:
- 68% disapprove of Trump's job performance, while 29% approve
- 26% say that they approve of the way Donald Trump is handling theeconomy
- 5% of Americans say that the national economy is getting better
- 67% of Americans say they believe that the national economy is in a recession
- The survey of 1,100 randomly selected U.S. adults was conducted Sept. 16-20, 2026, and has a margin of error of ±3 percentage points.
How did the Rasmussen Reports poll rank Trump?
Rasmussen Reports:
- 56% disapprove of Trump, while 43% approve
- The poll results are from Sept. 24, 2026
The Rasmussen Reports survey did not break down party affiliation of respondents or Trump's approval ratings on policy issues.
How did the Economist/YouGov poll rank Trump?
Economist/YouGov:
- 62% disapprove of Trump's job performance, while 35% approve. Only 17% "strongly" approve
- 59% said America's standing in the world has worsened since Trump became president again in 2025, while 24% said it has improved, 12% said it has stayed about the same and 5% said they're not sure
- 58% disapprove of Trump banning networks from the White House, while 32% approve
- 27% said the country is "generally headed in the right direction"
- 59% say the change in American standing has worsened
- The survey of 1,401 registered voters was conducted Sept. 18-21, 2026 and has a margin of error of ±3.4 percentage points.
How did the Civiqs poll rank Trump?
Civiqs:
- Nationwide, 59% disapprove of Trump's job performance, while 35% approve
- In Michigan, 58% disapprove of Trump's job performance, while 36% approve
- The online survey was compiled Sept. 22, 2026
USA TODAY contributed.
Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Poll shows Trump with lowest approval amid fight over press access
