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By Sam Stevenson
Associate News Editor
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President Donald Trump has a string of unwanted polling records this year, with multiple surveys showing historic lows and warning signs for the president as the 2026 midterms approach.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Newsweek in an emailed statement, "The ultimate poll was November 5, 2024, when nearly 80 million Americans overwhelmingly elected President Trump to deliver on his popular and common-sense agenda."
Why It Matters
Polls have shown Trump entering 2026 facing sustained voter dissatisfaction as he approaches a pivotal midterm election cycle.
Read More on Politics
Several recent polls have shown the president hitting multiple unwanted milestones, exposing possible political vulnerability beyond his core base.
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A Year Underwater in the Polls
One of the starkest markers of Trump’s standing came this month, when CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten said the president had crossed a threshold: a full year with a negative net approval rating.
According to CNN’s rolling polling average, Trump has remained underwater every single day since March 12, 2025.
The analysis found that, despite periodic bumps in individual surveys, the president's approval has not exceeded disapproval over those 12 months—an unusually prolonged stretch for a second‑term president, results that Enten noted could carry consequences heading into the 2026 midterms.
Gen Z Approval Falls to Record Low
Younger voters have delivered some of the toughest polling numbers of Trump’s second term so far.
An Economist/YouGov poll conducted February 6 to February 9 among 1,730 U.S. adult citizens found Trump’s approval rating among voters aged 18 to 29 at just 25 percent, with 67 percent disapproving.
That minus 42 rating is the lowest level recorded for Gen Z in that survey series. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
The result represented a sharp deterioration even from the prior week, underscoring volatility among younger voters at a time when turnout from that demographic could play a role in close House races.
Independents Break Another Record
Warning signs have also emerged among independent voters, a bloc that often determines swing elections.
A CNN‑cited analysis reported last week that Trump was now 38 points underwater with independents, marking the weakest showing for any president at a comparable point in a second term.
The finding was based on recent national polling reviewed by CNN’s chief data analyst, who noted that Trump’s deficit with independents exceeds those seen under both Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.
The assessment drew on multiple recent surveys and framed the shift as historically severe, given independents’ outsized influence in midterm outcomes.
Record High Disapproval Rating
In early March, Trump also hit a new peak in outright opposition.
An Economist/YouGov poll conducted February 27 to March 2 surveyed 1,515 U.S. adults and found Trump’s approval rating at 38 percent, with 59 percent disapproving. The survey carried a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
YouGov said the poll marked a record high disapproval rating for Trump during his second term, with 51 percent of respondents saying they strongly disapproved of his performance—the first time that figure had crossed the 50 percent threshold in either of his presidencies.
'Weakest President This Century'
CNN polling analysis has noted Trump has an unwelcome historical comparison.
Based on aggregated polling data reviewed by CNN’s data team, Trump was described as the "weakest president this century" at this stage of a second term, when measured by net approval.
Enten pointed to his persistent deficits with independents and younger voters, as well as his inability to regain positive territory nationally despite improving economic indicators earlier in the term.
Approval Hits New Second-Term Low Across Two Polls
Two national polls released weeks apart have also shown Trump sinking to new second‑term lows, reinforcing a broader pattern of erosion that has persisted into early 2026.
In a survey conducted from February 16 to February 18 by the Public Polling Project and Big Data Poll, Trump’s approval rating fell to its lowest level of his second term.
The poll surveyed 2,012 registered voters nationwide, including a subset of 1,805 likely voters.
Its margin of error was plus or minus 2.1 percentage points for registered voters and plus or minus 2.3 points for likely voters, both at the 95 percent confidence level.
It found 42.4 percent approving of Trump’s job performance, compared with 54.6 percent who disapproved, leaving the president more than 12 points underwater.
The findings stood out not only for the topline numbers, but for the intensity behind them.
The share of voters who said they strongly disapproved exceeded those who expressed any level of approval, a dynamic political analysts often associate with turnout risk in midterm elections.
That downward trend was reinforced less than a month later by a separate national survey from Quinnipiac University.
The Quinnipiac poll, conducted March 6 to March 8 among 1,002 registered voters, found Trump’s approval rating slipping further to 37 percent, with 57 percent disapproving.
The poll carried a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points and produced a net approval rating of minus 20—the lowest level recorded for Trump in Quinnipiac’s second‑term polling series.
What People Are Saying
White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Newsweek in an emailed statement: “The ultimate poll was November 5, 2024, when nearly 80 million Americans overwhelmingly elected President Trump to deliver on his popular and common-sense agenda.
“The president has already made historic progress not only in America but around the world. It is not surprising that President Trump remains the most dominant figure in American politics.”
President Donald Trump has publicly dismissed unfavorable polling in recent weeks, telling the New York Post about low approval tied to the Iran war: “I think that the polling is very good, but I don’t care about polling. I have to do the right thing. This should have been done a long time ago.”
What Happens Next
With the 2026 midterm elections approaching, presidential approval numbers can offer a preview of how his party, which currently holds majorities in both chambers of Congress, could perform.
During Trump's first term in the White House, Democrats picked up 41 seats in the House midterms, taking back the majority in the lower chamber.
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