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By Martha McHardy
US News Reporter
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President Donald Trump's approval rating has risen by 5 percentage points among Democrats, according to new polling.
Why It Matters
It comes at a time when the Democrats are more unpopular than ever following their performance in the 2024 election, when Trump improved his performance in almost every state. The Republican Party also flipped the Senate and held on to a narrow House majority.
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The scale of Trump's triumph has sparked widespread soul-searching within the Democratic Party over what went wrong and how to rebuild. But polls suggest the party is struggling to find its feet.
What To Know
According to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted between March 31-April 2 among 1,486 respondents, Trump's approval rating among Democrats currently stands at 8 percent. That is up from 3 percent in a similar poll conducted in early March.
His disapproval rating among Democrats has also decreased, from 95 percent in February, to 92 percent now.
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While Trump's approval rating among Democrats has risen, among members of his own party, it has stayed the same at 86 percent. His disapproval rating also remains the same at 12 percent.
The poll also shows that Trump is becoming less popular among independent voters, with his approval rating dropping by 7 points in the space of a month, to 37 percent. His disapproval rating has risen by 6 points to 59 percent. The poll had a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.
The latest YouGov/Economist poll, conducted between March 30-April 1 among 1,626 adults, showed the same trend, with Trump's approval rating among Democrats at 9 percent, up from 6 percent in a poll conducted in early March.
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Those disapproving were also down 6 points to 87 percent. Trump's approval rating has also taken a hit among independents, according to the poll, dropping to 33 percent, compared to 37 percent in the previous poll. Meanwhile, his disapproval rating was up 3 points to 57 percent.
But the YouGov/Economist poll differed from the Ipsos/Reuters one in that it showed Trump's approval rating among Republicans has gone up by 3 points to 93 percent, while his disapproval rating has been slashed to 5 percent, down from 7 percent last time. The poll had a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.
It comes as polls have shown that the Democrats are more unpopular than ever after the party's loss to Trump in November. According to an NBC News poll from March 7-11, 55 percent of respondents said they had a negative view of the Democratic Party, while 27 percent said they had a positive perception. That is the lowest level recorded since NBC News began asking the question in 1990.
There was also evidence of dissatisfaction with the party from its base, with 20 percent of Democratic voters viewing it negatively, twice as high as the figure for Republicans who had a negative view of their party. The poll had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
The survey showed that Democratic voters wanted their party to take a tougher position in Congress. Among Democratic voters, 65 percent said they wanted their congressional representatives to "stick to their positions even if that means not being able to get things done in Washington," while 32 percent said they should "make compromises with Trump to gain consensus on legislation."
Nonetheless, Alejandro Verdin, a Democratic strategist, was keen to point out that we shouldn't read too much into the bump in Trump's approval rating among Democrats.
He told Newsweek that recent Democratic successes in Wisconsin and underperformance by Republicans in Florida show that the Republicans are the ones in trouble. Wisconsin yesterday elected a liberal Democrat-backed Supreme Court justice by a nine point margin, and overperformed in a special congressional election in Florida, but still missed out on winning.
Verdin said that the small rise in Trump's approval is "meaningless" and shouldn't be overinterpreted, noting that people's dissatisfaction with Trump and figures like Elon Musk will only grow leading up to the midterms.
"Democrats are finding our footing and are going to fight back and win," he said.
Thomas Gift, an associate professor at University College London, expressed the same sentiment, stating that Trump's popularity among Democrats remains low. He suggested that small fluctuations in Trump's approval could be "just noise", with any gains likely coming from populist-leaning Democrats who resonate with Trump's rhetoric on working-class issues and globalization.
But Democratic strategist Christy Setzer noted that her party has been "weak" in the face of Trump—something that has frustrated voters.
"Democrats aren't standing up strongly against the biggest threat to our economy and our democracy in history," she told Newsweek.
In a recent interview on Real Time with Bill Maher, California Governor Gavin Newsom described his party's brand as "toxic."
"Democrats, we tend to be a little more judgmental than we should be," Newsom added.
"We need to own our mistakes. We need to own what's wrong with our party."
Donald Trump's Average Approval Rating
Newsweek's average of the 10 most recently published polls shows that Trump's approval rating currently stands at 47 percent, while 49 percent disapprove.
It comes as many polls have shown his approval rating on the decline. A poll conducted by Marquette University Law School between March 17 to March 27 among 1,021 adults showed that Trump's approval rating had dropped to 46 percent, while 54 percent said they disapproved. In January, 48 percent approved and 52 percent disapproved. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Both the Reuters/Ipsos and YouGov/Economist polls showed Trump's overall approval rating has changed marginally in the past month. In the Reuters/Ipsos poll, it declined by 1 point to 43 percent, while his disapproval also rose by 1 point to 53 percent. In the YouGov/Economist poll, Trump approval rating went up by 1 point to 46 percent, while his disapproval dropped a point to 49 percent.
The drop in Trump's approval rating has been mirrored by growing dissatisfaction with how he is handling the economy, reflected in the polls.
How Donald Trump's Approval Rating Compares to Joe Biden's
Trump's 47 percent approval rating is lower than former President Joe Biden's popularity at the same point in his presidency on April 3, 2021, when he stood at 54 percent, with a disapproval rating of 42 percent, according to RealClearPolitics.
Polls released in the days after Trump's inauguration showed his popularity at an all-time high. However, he was still the least popular president in recent times.
According to Gallup's first poll of Trump's second term, conducted between January 21 and 27, his initial approval rating was 47 percent. The pollster said this figure made him less popular than any president since 1953 at the start of a term and the only one to begin with a sub-50 percent approval rating. Gallup said Biden started his first term with a 57 percent approval rating.
How Donald Trump's Approval Rating Compares to First Term
The RealClearPolitics tracker shows that on April 3, 2017, Trump's approval rating was 40 percent, while his disapproval rating was 53 percent, giving him a net approval rating of -13 points, making Trump more popular now than at the same point in his first term.
What People Are Saying
Alejandro Verdin, Democratic strategist, told Newsweek: "We just watched Democrats successfully mobilize and message to voters in Wisconsin, where people turned out in droves to crush Trump's candidate for Supreme Court. In Florida, Republicans completely underperformed in districts Trump carried last November.
"This all happened at the same time that people are growing more concerned about the economy and Trump's overall approval is at the lowest it's been since returning to office.
"What's happening right now is not a problem for Democrats. Republicans are the ones in hot water. The small bump is meaningless and we shouldn't read too much into it. People's dissatisfaction with Trump and his crony Elon Musk are only going to grow in the year and a half until the midterms. Democrats are finding our footing and are going to fight back and win."
Thomas Gift, an associate professor of political science and the director of the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London, told Newsweek: "First thing's first, Trump remains enormously unpopular among Democrats. Small blips in his approvals could be just noise, and it's unclear how meaningful these figures are given that they're so close to falling within the margin of error.
"In all likelihood, Trump's gains are coming from more populist-oriented Democrats who are coming around to Trump's rhetoric about helping the working class and revitalizing American industries, while taking concrete steps like tariffs that push back against globalization and other neoliberal policies."
Christy Setzer, Democratic strategist, told Newsweek: "To quote Bill Clinton, people will often choose 'strong and wrong' over 'weak and right.' Trump is certainly 'wrong,' but 'weak and right' is about the kindest thing one could say about the Democratic Party right now. With few notable exceptions—Cory Booker's 25-hour filibuster being one of them—Democrats aren't standing up strongly against the biggest threat to our economy and our democracy in history. Senate Democrats are still voting for Trump's nominees!
"And though one can argue Schumer's position that voting against Trump's budget would have caused even greater damage through a (perma-) government shutdown, there's no excuse for 'playing dead.' That makes Democrats furious—maybe even to the point of saying they'd rather crash the economy with Trump than go with the party that can't stand up to it."
What Happens Next
Trump's approval rating will likely fluctuate in the coming weeks, depending on the outcome of key events, including critical negotiations on the Russia-Ukraine war, the growing tariff battle with countries such as Canada, and concerns about a recession.
Update 4/3/2025, 11:36 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Thomas Gift and Alejandro Verdin.
Update 4/4/2025, 04:58 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Christy Setzer.
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