WITH TRUMP APPROVAL TICKING DOWN, MIDTERM ELECTIONS ARE STILL A GLOOMY PICTURE FOR GOP. For the first time this term, President Donald Trump’s job approval rating has dipped below 40% in the RealClearPolitics average of polls. The newest rating is 39.9% approval and 57% disapproval.The president’s approval has been ticking downward for months — it started at 50.5% in January 2025 — and has come to its current level following a number of polls showing his job approval in the mid-to-high 30s. The latest is a New York Times poll, released Monday, that shows Trump at 37% approval and 59% disapproval, all among registered voters.The New York Times poll found a significant gender gap in Trump approval. Forty-four percent of men approve of the job the president is doing, while 29% of women approve. The race/ethnicity gap is larger — Trump’s approval among white respondents is 45%, while his approval among non-white respondents is 20%. Among respondents who voted for Trump in 2024, his approval rating is 79%. Among those who voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris, it is 3%, and among those who did not vote, it is 21%.
The new survey, like many others, found solid disapproval of the war in Iran. The New York Times asked, “Do you think Donald Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran was the right decision or the wrong decision?” Sixty-four percent said the wrong decision, while 30% said the right decision. Among Trump 2024 voters, 76% said going to war was the right decision. Among Harris voters, 95% said it was the wrong decision.
