President Donald Trump’s approval rating has hit a record low as the midterms loom, new polling from the and NORC at the University of Chicago shows. The nationwide poll shows that 31 percent of respondents approved of how Trump is handling his job as president, while 69 percent disapproved. This figure marks his lowest in either of his presidential terms.
Trump began his second term in office with a 50.5 percent approval rating and a 44.3 percent disapproval, but his approval rating has continually slipped since. Figures from Civiqs' rolling tracking poll of registered voters captured as of September 28 show the president is underwater in 39 states and every major battleground state. Civiqs gives Trump a net approval rating in 10 states: Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama and West Virginia.
Meanwhile, Civiqs puts the president’s overall approval rating at 34 percent. In a statement to Newsweek over email, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said: “No one can dispute the fact that President Trump has created one of the most robust coalitions in political history with the MAGA movement, and the President understands how to communicate with them. President Trump is the unequivocal leader, best messenger, and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party, and he is committed to maintaining Republican majorities in Congress." It comes at a pivotal time for the GOP ahead of the midterms.
All 435 seats in the House and 35 seats in the Senate are up for grabs in November. To win the Senate, Democrats need to win 17 seats while Republicans need 20. 218 seats are required to take control of the House. Republicans currently have a slim majority in the House – 219 to 213.
The midterm elections could alter the rest of the course of Trump’s presidency and could reshape how the administration proceeds with its legislative priorities if Republicans are to lose their majority in either chamber. Traditionally, in midterm elections, the party that does not hold the White House has performed better. Trump himself is not on the ballot in November, though in September he urged his supporters while speaking in Dallas to “pretend” that he is, as the GOP seeks to protect their majorities in the House and Senate.
Beyond the president’s approval rating, the poll looked at key issues for the U.S. electorate before they head out to the polls. It showed that Americans are frustrated with the president over the cost of living and hold him responsible for elevated prices. 65 percent of adults said that Trump’s policies are the cause of higher-than-usual prices, and 69 percent of the public said that his handling of the cost of living has been worse than expected. The majority of Americans – 73 percent – said that the country was heading in the wrong direction, and 46 percent said that their families were worse off since the beginning of Trump’s second term in office.
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