...
By Sam Stevenson
Associate News Editor
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
President Donald Trump’s approval rating among lower-income Americans has dropped sharply in recent months, according to new polling that shows a steep erosion of support within a key part of his coalition.
White House spokesperson 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 commonsense agenda."
Why It Matters
Working-class voters have been central to Trump’s political base, but pressures from the Iran war and a volatile economic outlook are reshaping that relationship.
Read More on Politics
Shifts among low-income voters could carry real consequences for Republican prospects in the November midterms.
...
What To Know
New CNN polling conducted by SSRS shows a dramatic decline in Trump’s approval rating among Americans earning less than $50,000 a year.
In a CNN/SSRS poll conducted from January 9 to January 12, 2026, Trump’s approval among adults in households earning under $50,000 stood at 38 percent, while 60 percent disapproved of the way he was handling his job as president.
That produced a net approval rating (those who approve minus those who disapprove) of minus 22 points for this income group.
That survey was based on 1,209 adult Americans recruited from a probability-based panel. According to CNN, the margin of sampling error for total respondents was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
Less than three months later, the numbers worsened substantially.
A second CNN/SSRS poll conducted from March 26 to March 30, 2026, found Trump’s approval rating among Americans earning under $50,000 had fallen to 29 percent, while disapproval had risen to 70 percent. That resulted in a net approval rating of minus 41 points.
The March poll surveyed a random national sample of 1,201 adults. Results for the full sample had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
Taken together, the two surveys show a 19-point net approval swing in the wrong direction among lower-income voters over roughly 10 weeks.
Approval fell by 9 points, while disapproval increased by 10 points, according to the CNN data.
The income group tracked in both surveys includes many voters who have historically been part of Trump’s working-class coalition, particularly in industrial states and rural areas.
The CNN polls asked identical questions about whether respondents approved or disapproved of how Trump was handling his job, allowing for a direct comparison over time.
Both polls surveyed adult Americans rather than registered or likely voters, using CNN’s standard approach for measuring broad public sentiment.
What People Are Saying
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Newsweek in an emailed statement: "No other President in history has accomplished more for the American people than President Trump, who is working tirelessly to create jobs, cool inflation, increase housing affordability, and more. The President has already made historic progress not only in America but around the world, and this is just the beginning as his agenda continues taking effect."
A White House official previously told Newsweek: "Polling shows President Trump's decision to launch Operation Epic Fury has Americans' support—with MAGA and Republicans strongly supporting it. Despite some online commentators with large followings publicly disagreeing with the president's decision—and many legacy media outlets eagerly highlighting their comments to try and sow division—the MAGA base is not wavering one bit."
President Donald Trump said last month: "When this is over, oil prices are going to go down very, very rapidly. So is inflation. So is everything else. But frankly, much more important than short-term or even long-term oil prices: You cannot let the most violent, vicious country in the last 50 years have a nuclear weapon."
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines