With fears over political violence spiking and Americans sweating rising costs, President Donald Trump’s approval rating has taken a hit, according to a new poll.
Just 39% of respondents to the latest Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll said they approved of the Republican president’s job performance.
One clear warning sign for the White House as it pursues its aggressive immigration and tariff regimes: The share of Americans who now say the country is on the wrong track has jumped by 13 points since June, from 62% to 75%, according to the poll
That shift has primarily occurred among Republicans, with 51% now saying the country is on the wrong track, up from the 29% who said the same thing in June. Democrats have resolutely maintained the country is headed in the wrong direction since Trump returned to the White House.
There are notable differences in age and gender among the poll’s Republican respondents. Those aged 45 and younger and more likely than older Republicans (61% vs 43%) to say the country is off track. And Republican women were more likely than men (60% vs 43%) to hold that same viewpoint, according to the poll.
Trump’s handling of specific issues, meanwhile, remains deeply split along partisan lines. His strongest issues were border security (55% approve) and crime (46% approve).
Around 4 in 10 respondents said they approved of his handling of health care, trade, the economy, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, foreign policy, and immigration.
Roughly 6 in 10 respondents said Trump had overstepped his authority with his tariff regime, using presidential power to achieve his goals, and by deploying the military and federal law enforcement to U.S. cities.
That agreement was more unanimous among Democrats, while most Republicans said Trump’s actions were about right. Still, nearly a quarter told pollsters they believed deploying the national guard and his using presidential powers were excessive. About a third said they felt imposing new tariffs had gone too far.
The poll also found an overall dissatisfaction with the nation’s elected officials.
Fifty-four percent of adults held an unfavorable view of Trump, with more describing their opinion as very unfavorable rather than somewhat unfavorable (44% vs. 10%), according to the poll.
Respondents were narrowly split on their unfavorable views of the Democratic and Republican Parties, at 53% and 51% respectively.
Voters’ views of Vice President JD Vance were slightly less negative, with 46% viewing him unfavorably. But the Ohio Republican’s favorability was lower at 32%, with 21% saying they didn’t know enough to form an opinion.
The nationwide poll was conducted September 11-15, with a sample size of 1,183 adults. The overall margin of error was error was 3.8%.