President Donald Trump's endorsements in Congressional primaries have been on a winning streak until this week.
Incumbent Rep. Andy Ogles lost to a Republican challenger in Tennessee on Aug. 6, days after Navy veteran Amir Hassan lost the Republican bid in Michigan's 8th Congressional District to a candidate who dropped out of the race after the ballots were printed. Both had been backed by Trump. Before these races, all of the Congressional candidates Trump backed in the primaries won, though his picks had lost in primaries for state legislature and governor races.
Trump's approval rating has been hovering around his career lows for months, spelling trouble for the Republicans hoping to hold onto control of Congress in the midterm elections.
Still, Trump has expressed doubt that his supporters will turn out to vote without him on the ballot.
"A lot of them are very angry at Republicans, to be honest with you," Trump said in an interview with Punchbowl News. "They're angry at Republicans, but they're not angry at me."
So what is his approval rating? Here are some of the latest polls from the week:
Marquette Law School Poll: Inflation & cost of living most important to voters
In a Marquette Law School Poll conducted from July 22-29 of 1,076 U.S. adults, Trump's approval rating was 40%, up from 38% in the June 9-15 polling. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
The poll also reported that 35% of people ranked inflation and the cost of living as the most important issue to them personally. That is down from 37% in May.
The economy took the No. 2 spot, with 15% of respondents picking that as their most important issue. Other options included the Iran war (10%), Medicare & Social Security (9%), the SAVE America Act (9%) and 5% each for health care, immigration/border security and affordable housing.
When asked what effect Trump's policies will have on inflation, 61% of respondents said that they will make inflation increase, 21% said they will make inflation decrease, and 18% predicted no effect.
Reuters/Ipsos: Who can handle the cost of living better?
Trump's overall approval rating in a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll was 35%. The poll was conducted July 29 to Aug. 3 among 4,505 U.S. adults with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.5 percentage points. The approval fell from 37% in the pollster's survey conducted July 24 to July 26.
Thirty-three percent of Americans believed Democrats have a better approach on the U.S. economy, and 35% believed Democrats are stronger on the cost of living, the poll found. Only 31% of respondents preferred Republicans on the economy, and 27% did not know who they preferred. On the cost of living, only 27% preferred Republicans and 28% of respondents did not know.
Here's how the poll released Aug. 3 broke down when it came to finances:
- On inflation, 70% of people disapproved of Trump’s handling, while 22% approved.
- On the economy, 63% of people disapproved of Trump’s handling, while 28% approved.
- On the cost of living, 70% of people disapproved of the president’s handling, while 23% approved.
Economist/YouGov: Majority of Americans unhappy with economy
An Economist/YouGov poll conducted July 31 to Aug. 3 among 1,609 adults gave Trump a 36% approval rating. (The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.) Although Trump’s approval rating is still hovering near record lows, the president's numbers did improve by 2 percentage points compared with last week’s Economist/YouGov poll. The previous poll, released July 28, showed that just 34% of Americans approved of Trump's job performance.
The poll found that 64% of Americans believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, while 30% of respondents said we are “generally” heading in the right direction.
A majority of Americans also continue to express unhappiness with the state of the economy, as 57% of respondents said the economy is getting worse, while only 16% said they thought economic conditions were improving.
What is Donald Trump's approval rating?
Trump's average approval rating has been net negative since April of his first year back in office and fluctuating, but has been creeping more into the red since. Here is Trump's average approval rating as of Aug. 7 according to aggregators:
- RealClearPolitics Poll Average: 39.3% approve, 58.4% disapprove
- New York Times: 38% approve, 59% disapprove
- Silver Bulletin: 38.5% approve, 58.3% disapprove
Contributing: Joey Garrison, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X (Twitter), Threads, Bluesky and TikTok.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump lost an endorsement winning streak. What is his approval rating?
