Donald Trump's Approval Rating Goes Underwater on Every Issue

Donald Trump's approval rating has slipped underwater across every major issue, according to new polling.

The latest Echelon Insights poll, conducted between August 14-18, shows that voters disapprove of Trump's handling of the economy, immigration, foreign policy, and tariffs.

Why It Matters

Trump's declining approval ratings on the economy, immigration, and foreign policy signal potential trouble for his broader agenda. Voter confidence is waning on issues that were once central to his platform, from economic management to hard-line immigration policies. Foreign policy promises, particularly regarding Russia and Ukraine, remain largely unfulfilled, highlighting a disconnect between campaign rhetoric and tangible results.

What To Know

The survey found that just 46 percent of voters approve of Trump's handling of the economy, compared to 51 percent who disapprove. However, that has inched up slightly since last month.

Inflation rose to 2.7 percent in June, despite Trump's previous promise to end inflation on Day One of his second term.

"Starting on Day One, we will end inflation and make America affordable again, to bring down the prices of all goods," he said during a rally in Bozeman, Montana, in August 2024.

By contrast, his standing on immigration and foreign policy has declined, leaving him underwater across every major issue.

On immigration, one of his signature campaign themes, 47 percent approve while 51 percent disapprove.

Foreign policy also registers negative marks, with 44 percent approving and 49 percent disapproving. Trump performs worst on tariffs, where only 41 percent approve of his approach and 53 percent disapprove.

But Trump's approval on immigration has seen the biggest drop since January, declining by 19 points.

Throughout his second term, Trump has aggressively expanded immigration enforcement—launching mass deportation operations, increasing raids in sanctuary cities and reviving thousands of old deportation cases.

His administration has also dramatically scaled up detention capacity, allocating $45 billion to expand ICE facilities and construct large-scale temporary camps, including the facility in Florida nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz."

But while Trump has continued to push the hard-line immigration agenda that helped him win support in 2024, polls indicate that backing for those policies is fading across other demographic groups.

Gallup polling from last month showed that 30 percent of Americans now say immigration levels should be reduced, down from 55 percent in 2024. Support for maintaining or increasing immigration has risen across the board, including among Republicans.

More broadly, the number of Americans who view immigration as a "good thing" has reached an all-time high of 79 percent, the same poll shows, reversing a steady decline during Joe Biden's presidency and surpassing levels from Trump's first term.

On the economy and foreign policy, his net approval rating has declined by 15 and 16 points, respectively.

This past weekend, he hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders at the White House. While the meeting did not produce an agreement to end the three-and-a-half-year Russian invasion, it laid the groundwork for a long-anticipated trilateral meeting between Trump, Zelensky, and Putin, with whom Trump met at a military base in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday.

Nonetheless, Trump's foreign policy appears to be failing to win over voters, with several recent polls showing declines in his approval ratings on the issue. During the campaign, he repeatedly claimed he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine within his first 24 hours in office, though he later walked back those comments, saying he had been joking.

Trump's overall approval rating has remained consistently underwater. Newsweek's tracker currently puts his net approval at -7 points, up from -8 points last week.

Echelon's poll put Trump's approval rating at -4 points, up from -8 last month.

However, Trump's ratings have remained steady in recent weeks. Pollster Nate Silver wrote on his blog earlier this month: "If you're a close follower of Donald Trump's approval rating, you know that last week's numbers were very boring."

He added: "After the relatively consistent decline in Trump's approval between June and late July, we've reached another steady state."

What Happens Next

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday that President Trump told him during the call with Putin that a meeting between the Russian president and Zelensky will take place within the next two weeks. The venue for the talks has not yet been decided, Merz said.