President Donald Trump is facing a pivotal moment in his second term as a series of new polls released this week reveal his approval ratings have hit historic lows, with women and key demographic groups turning away in significant numbers. The data, gathered by several major polling organizations, signals mounting challenges for the president and his party as the 2026 midterm elections approach.
According to a new poll from The Economist and YouGov, released Tuesday, Trump’s approval rating among women has fallen to its lowest point since his return to the White House in January. The survey, conducted from June 27 to June 30 among 1,648 U.S. adults, found just 38 percent of women approving of the president’s job performance, with a margin of error of 3.3 percent. This marks a sharp decline from the 43 percent approval Trump enjoyed with women in a poll taken just days after his inauguration, and it is the first time his support has dipped below 35 percent with this key bloc since January 20.
Political analyst Craig Agranoff, speaking to Newsweek, put the numbers in stark perspective: “President Trump’s approval rating dropping to 34% among women, as recent polls indicate, is a significant concern for his administration, given women’s substantial influence as a voting bloc.” Agranoff added, “This low figure likely reflects dissatisfaction with his rhetoric and policies on issues like reproductive rights & economic equity, which resonate deeply with many women. It’s not quite a crisis, but it’s a warning sign, especially in a polarized electorate.”
Trump’s overall approval ratings are also languishing at the lowest levels of his second term, according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted from August 13 to August 18, 2025. That poll, which included 4,446 participants and has a margin of error of about 2 percentage points, found just 40 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of his job. This figure, widely reported by The Hill and Daily Mail, represents a seven-point drop from the 47 percent approval rating Trump held at the outset of his second term on January 20, 2025.
For context, at the same stage in his presidency, former President Joe Biden maintained a 50 percent approval rating, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll from August 2021. Trump’s current numbers, by contrast, are not only lower than Biden’s but also mirror the president’s own standing for much of his first term, when he often hovered in the low 40s.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll also revealed a 54 percent disapproval rating for Trump in August 2025, down slightly from 56 percent in late July. Notably, 54 percent of respondents—including a quarter of Republicans—believe Trump is too closely aligned with Russia, a perception that has dogged his administration amid ongoing diplomatic negotiations with Russia and Ukraine to end their war. The U.S. economy, meanwhile, is showing signs of strain, further complicating Trump’s efforts to regain lost ground with voters.
Other recent polls paint a similarly challenging picture. The Pew Research Center found just 38 percent of respondents backing Trump’s job performance in a survey released earlier this month, down from 41 percent in June. A Decision Desk HQ polling average puts Trump’s approval at 46.5 percent, with a 50.5 percent disapproval rating. At the start of his second term, Trump boasted a 56 percent approval rating in the same average, underscoring the magnitude of his recent decline.
While Trump has managed to make modest gains with millennials and baby boomers in recent weeks, according to pollsters cited by Newsweek, the erosion of support among women and Hispanics is particularly troubling for his reelection prospects and for Republican hopes in the midterms. The latest Reuters/Ipsos survey found only 32 percent of Hispanics approving of Trump’s performance, a drop attributed in part to the administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown, which has led to at least 300,000 repatriations nationwide.
Trump’s approval ratings on specific issues also reflect the broader malaise. Only 42 percent of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they supported his performance on crime, and 43 percent approved of his handling of immigration. Just 37 percent gave him positive marks on the economy—a striking figure given the centrality of economic messaging to Trump’s appeal. The survey was administered the same week Trump announced he was federalizing the Washington, D.C., police force and deploying additional National Guard troops to the district, a move that drew sharp criticism and sparked protests at Republican town halls, as documented by Daily Mail.
Despite the gloomy national numbers, some polls have offered glimmers of hope for the president. The RealClearPolitics polling average shows Trump with a 46 percent approval rating, while an Insider Advantage poll taken last week gave him a 54 percent approval and a 44 percent disapproval. Similarly, a late July poll from Daily Mail/J.L. Partners found 49 percent of voters approving of Trump’s job performance, though 51 percent disapproved. These outliers suggest that Trump retains a strong base of support, particularly among registered Republicans, but they do little to offset the broader trend of declining approval across key demographics.
The president’s response to these numbers has been characteristically combative. Throughout his political career, Trump has touted positive approval ratings at news conferences and campaign rallies, often dismissing unfavorable polls as biased or inaccurate. But the current downturn is harder to ignore, especially given the consistency of the findings across multiple respected polling organizations.
Political analyst Craig Agranoff, in his comments to Newsweek, noted that Trump’s instinct is likely to double down on appealing to his base rather than making a strategic outreach to women voters or other alienated groups. “To make an immediate pivot, Trump could soften his messaging, perhaps by highlighting policies that directly address women’s economic or healthcare concerns, like childcare support or workforce protections. His track record suggests he’s more likely to double down on appealing to his base rather than making a strategic outreach to women voters at the moment,” Agranoff concluded.
Looking ahead, major polling organizations are expected to continue tracking Trump’s approval ratings on a weekly and monthly basis as the 2026 midterm elections draw nearer. If the decline among women, Hispanics, and other swing voters persists, it could force both parties to recalibrate their campaign messaging and policy platforms in the coming months.
For now, the numbers tell a stark story: President Trump is confronting some of the lowest approval ratings of his tenure, with critical segments of the electorate expressing growing dissatisfaction. Whether these trends represent a temporary dip or a more permanent shift remains to be seen, but the stakes for Trump—and for the broader political landscape—could hardly be higher as the nation heads toward another consequential election cycle.
