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By Jordan King
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Tuesday marks the anniversary of Donald Trump’s second term in office, capping one of the most improbable political comebacks in modern U.S. history.
Yet, a year into his return to the White House, multiple polls suggest the president’s standing with the public has shifted. Several surveys show Trump’s approval rating dropping amid waning confidence in issues central to his political identity, including the economy, and a pronounced erosion of support among younger voters.
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When asked about these polls, White House spokesperson Davis R. Ingle told Newsweek: “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.”
Trump has repeatedly said polls about him are “rigged,” previously calling for them to be investigated for "election fraud.”
It is worth noting that polls have historically underestimated Trump's popularity, who 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.
Approval Rating Hits Rock Bottom
Two polls from earlier this month show that Trump’s approval ratings have dropped to their lowest points since his reelection.
Trump’s net approval rating—the percentage of those who approve (38 percent) minus those who disapprove (56 percent)—stands at minus 18 points, according to a Marist Poll of 1,408 adults conducted January 12-13. Some 6 percent of those surveyed in this poll said they were not sure. The margin for error was within plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
Similarly, an Economist/YouGov poll of 1,602 U.S. adults, conducted between January 9-12, shows 40 percent approving of Trump’s job performance and 54 percent disapproving, with 6 percent undecided, resulting in a net approval rating of -14 points. The survey disclaims a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
The lowest point for his first term, according to this polling series, was just before he left office in January 2021, when it stood at -20 net approval.
Trump Is Underwater on Issues That Got Him Elected
Polling by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (AP-NORC) shows that Trump has lost public confidence on the very issues that once defined his political brand: immigration, economic strength and foreign policy.
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.
This is according to an AP-NORC survey conducted March 20-24 last year among 1,229 adults, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
In the January poll’s results on foreign policy, 37 percent of respondents approved, and 61 percent disapproved. Among Republicans, 74 percent approved and 25 percent disapproved.
While the March 2025 poll did not ask about foreign policy broadly, responses to "trade negotiations with other countries" show slightly weaker Republican support, with GOP approval at 72 percent.
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Gen Z Has Turned Sharply Negative
Trump made inroads with Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012), especially young men, during the 2024 election when he won men ages 18 to 29, a demographic he had lost four years earlier.
But 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.
Comparatively, just a few weeks into the start of his second term, Trump’s net approval rating with younger voters was +10 points, according to a CBS News/YouGov poll, which surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,175 U.S. adults between February 5 and 7, 2025.
60% Say Trump Has Worsened Economic Conditions
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.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai told Newsweek last month: "President Trump and every member of his Administration are clear-eyed about the fact that Americans continue to reel from the lingering effects of Joe Biden’s generational economic crisis.
"Turning the Biden economic disaster around has informed nearly every action the Trump administration has taken since Day One, from unleashing American energy to cut gas prices to signing historic drug pricing deals to cut costs for American patients.
"Much work remains, and every member of the Trump administration continues to focus on recreating the historic job, wage, and economic growth that Americans enjoyed during President Trump’s first term."
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