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By Anna Commander
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President Donald Trump's overall approval rating has been relatively unscathed among Americans age 65 and up, CNN's Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten reported on Thursday.
The figures suggested that while Trump’s overall approval marks have dropped in recent weeks, older Americans continue rating his job performance more favorably than the broader electorate, keeping seniors a comparatively steady constituency.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email on Thursday for comment.
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Why It Matters
Older voters consistently turn out at higher rates than younger voters, Enten noted, making any shifts within the 65-plus group potentially consequential for national and battleground-state politics.
However, several recent surveys have shown record or near‑record lows for Trump among key blocs, including Gen Z and independent voters, potentially compounding headwinds for the White House amid public concern over the cost of living and the war with Iran.
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What To Know
In a clip posted to X by Enten on Thursday, he says, "President Trump is more than holding his own amongst a very large portion of the electorate, a very reliable voting bloc. And that is senior citizens. Take a look here, OK? Trump's approval rating aged 65 plus. In March of 2025, 46 percent. Look at where it is now. It's basically the same."
"Seniors have not moved. He's at 44 percent now, and the key nugget here is for all this talk about young people in the electorate, such as myself, or at least I like to include myself in that bloc, it turns out that older voters, senior citizens, vote in far larger numbers. So, Republicans look at this number, and they say, hey, you know what, we can actually potentially do some real damage, or at least hold our own in the midterms, because President Trump is holding his own with this very important voting bloc."
When asked how it compares to other presidents, Enten says, "It turns out, if you look at all the 21st century second-term presidents and you'll look at senior citizens, Trump actually has the best approval rating at this point in the second term of all of them. Donald Trump at 44 percent, Obama was under 40 percent, at 39 percent. George W. Bush was way down there at 34 percent. So, Donald Trump is beating other presidents this century at this point in their second term, beating all of them, and therefore, as I said, holding his own amongst a very key voting bloc."
"The president of the United States and the White House should like this number, especially compared to Obama, who Trump, of course, always likes to beat," Enten added.
But in polls by CBS News and YouGov, Trump's overall approval rating among senior citizens has dropped 5 percent during his second term. In a survey taken from April 8 to April 10, the president's approval with the group was 45 percent compared to a 55 percent disapproval rating.
In a poll taken from February 5 to February 7, 2025, the president had an approval rating of 50 percent with the voting bloc and a disapproval mark of 50 percent.
According to CNN exit polling, Trump barely won the voting bloc during the 2024 presidential election, with 50 percent compared to former Vice President Kamala Harris' 49 percent.
Grant Davis Reeher, professor of political science at Syracuse University, told Newsweek via email on Thursday in part that "Seniors tilt toward the Republican Party, and senior Democrats tilt more centrist, even conservative, relative to younger Democrats. But this doesn’t really explain the lack of movement in the approval ratings; it speaks more to Trump’s rating being higher among older citizens."
Reeher said he can think of two possible factors in the apparent stability of Trump's approval rating with older voters.
"The first is economic," he said. "A lot of people in this category are more closely tuned into their assets, because they are relying on them to supply their income. In particular, they are watching 401k and 403b accounts, and a lot of those are heavily invested in stocks. Overall, the stock market has performed well during Trump’s second term, despite the sharp ups and downs, and despite the problems with tariffs and the Iran War.
"And those who are wealthy enough not to rely on 401k and 403b accounts are also heavily invested in the stock market, so the same logic applies."
Reeher continued: "The second factor is more cultural and political (but not partisan). Older citizens have seen more upheavals in the American political system. They have lived through (at least as children for those under 70) the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights protests, urban riots, the assassinations of political leaders, and Watergate. So they have a broader context in which to place Trump, his rhetoric, and the effects of some of his policies. I would think that would tend to smooth out the curves in approval ratings."
Update 4/16/26, 10:42 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Grant Davis Reeher.
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