In yet another bad poll for President Donald Trump, his approval rating fell to a new second-term low, with only three in 10 Americans approving of his job performance, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center.
The new poll, released on Thursday, Oct. 8, found that only 30% of Americans approved of Trump's handling of the presidency. That performance marks the president's lowest approval rating of his second term.
Trump’s performance in Thursday’s poll is only one percentage point better than his worst poll on Jan. 12, 2021, at the end of his first term, when he sat at a 29% approval rating.
The president’s new second-term low in Pew Research Polling is two points worse than former President Joe Biden’s low of 32% recorded in July
2024, and 11 points worse than former President Barack Obama’s low of 41% between October and November of 2013.
The Pew Research poll, conducted from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, surveyed 5,062 adults, with a margin of error of 1.6 percentage points.
A boost to Democrats
Trump’s sinking approval numbers come weeks before highly contested midterm elections, as Republicans seek to hold onto slim majorities in Congress. According to Pew Research’s latest poll, Democrats hold an eight-point advantage over Republicans in a generic congressional ballot.
Democrats’ advantage comes as the economy remains a core issue for voters ahead of November.
According to Pew Research Center, 84% of registered voters said the economy was very important to their vote. That importance comes as only 21% of respondents said that current economic conditions were excellent or good.
Dissatisfaction with Trump
Trump's sliding approval numbers come as his own 2024 voters feel increasingly dissatisfied with his time in office. According to the new Pew Research poll, 67% of Trump voters approve of his job performance, marking a 28-percentage-point drop since the beginning of his term.
That dissatisfaction within Trump’s own party stretches to their overall satisfaction with the state of the nation, as only 39% of Republicans said they feel satisfied about the country, the poll found. That number is the lowest of the president's second term and a double-digit drop from the 65% recorded at the start of Trump’s term in 2025.
What do polling averages show?
While individual polls vary, major polling averages continue to place Trump in negative territory overall:
- RealClearPolitics (Oct. 8): 38.3% approve, 59.4% disapprove
- New York Times (Oct. 8): 37% approve, 61% disapprove
- Silver Bulletin (Oct. 8): 37.1% approve, 60.1% disapprove
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's approval rating sinks to new second-term low, Pew poll shows
