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By Daniel Orton and Jordan King
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President Donald Trump has recorded the lowest approval rating of his second term, according to new polling from the American Research Group (ARG), which shows the president’s standing with the public continuing a long downward slide.
The latest survey finds Trump at 35 percent approval and 63 percent disapproval, yielding a net approval of –28 points—his worst recorded by ARG since the Republican's return to office. The findings also show that just 32 percent of Americans approve of Trump's handling of the economy, while 64 percent disapprove.
Newsweek has contacted the White House, via email outside of normal working hours, for comment.
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Why It Matters
The ARG results documented the highest disapproval and a matching low approval for Trump in that series, underscoring public unease with his economic stewardship one year into his second term.
This latest poll also comes off the back of multiple surveys showing similar patterns. Newsweek previously covered four major polls which show Trump’s approval rating hitting rock bottom and losing public confidence on issues that got him elected, such as the economy and immigration.
What To Know
The poll was conducted among a national sample of 1,100 adults and carries a margin of error of+/-3 percentage points, between January 16 and 20 this year.
Trump’s job approval has stagnated at 35 percent for three consecutive months, with his disapproval rising from 62 percent in November and December to 63 percent in January.
For comparison, in February 2025, after Trump had just taken office, his approval rating was 43 percent and his disapproval rating was 51 percent, according to ARG surveys from then.
In January 2018, a year into his first term, 35 percent approved and 60 percent disapproved.
Recent polling by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (AP-NORC) shows that Trump has lost public confidence on some of the issues that that once defined his political brand, such as immigration and the economy.
Some 38 percent of the 1,203 adults polled January 8-11 approve of the job Trump is doing on immigration, compared to 61 percent who disapprove. This differs among his party base, though: 76 percent of Republicans questioned approve, and 23 percent disapprove.
While the majority of Republicans still back Trump on immigration, a similar poll from the beginning of his term shows that the percentage of Republicans who disapprove has almost doubled, from 12 percent, while the percentage who approve has dropped by 27 percentage points.
Meanwhile, about 6 in 10 U.S. adults questioned in the AP-NORC’s January poll said they think Trump has done more to worsen the cost of living in his second term, while 2 in 10 said he has done more to help, and around 3 in 10 said he has not made an impact.
This is different from Trump’s first term in office, when his approval rating on the issue was generally higher, though it fluctuated, usually near 50 percent, according to AP analysis.
Trump has also seemingly lost support with Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012), who he made inroads with during the 2024 election, winning men aged 18 to 29, a demographic he had lost four years earlier.
Trump’s current net approval rating (the percentage of those who approve minus those who disapprove) among young voters has since collapsed to minus 32 points, according to a CBS News/YouGov survey, which polled 2,325 U.S. adults between January 5-7, with a plus or minus 2.4 percent margin of error.
Trump has repeatedly said polls about him are “rigged,” previously calling for them to be investigated for "election fraud.”
Polls have historically underestimated Trump's popularity – he has outperformed pre-election expectations in all three of his presidential campaigns. The Pew Research Center attributes this common underestimation to the fact that people most likely to take part in polls are also more likely to vote for a Democratic president.
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What People Are Saying
When asked about previous negative polls, White House spokesperson Davis R. Ingle told Newsweek on Monday: “President Trump was overwhelmingly elected by nearly 80 million Americans to deliver on his popular and commonsense 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.”
In previous comments to the Detroit Economic Club, Trump said the U.S. had experienced “the strongest and fastest economic turnaround in our country’s history.”
Pollster John Della Volpe told The Rebuild: “Young Americans are sending a clear message: the systems and institutions meant to support them no longer feel stable, fair, or responsive.”
What Happens Next
The sustained erosion of approval among both the general public and Trump’s base presents a challenge as the president enters the second year of his second term. The president faces a narrowing window to shift public perception ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
But, with the administration continuing to dismiss polling data as unreliable, it remains unclear whether the president will adjust course in response to the numbers.
Update, 01/22/2026, 7:38 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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