President Donald Trump marks the 500th day of his second term in the White House Thursday, but the milestone coincides with a poll showing his approval rating at a new low.
The latest survey from The Economist and YouGov places Trump’s net approval rating at -25, down 1.1 points in a week, and reveals that only 35 percent of the American public approves of the job he is doing in the Oval Office, with a massive 60 percent disapproving and the remaining 5 percent unsure.
The news magazine explains that the results make the president the most unpopular U.S. commander-in-chief since it began polling in 2009.
It blames the commencement of Operation Epic Fury against Iran on February 28 for dragging down his standing, noting that a majority of Americans now consider it the “wrong decision” to launch airstrikes against Tehran with the benefit of hindsight.
However, as has been the case in many equivalent polls for months, The Economist notes that it is the economy that is Trump’s true Achilles heel, with three-quarters of respondents to its new survey saying that they believe the nation’s financial health to be either “poor” or “fair” at best.
The periodical’s analysis concludes that the president’s deep unpopularity will almost certainly have consequences for his Republican Party come November’s midterms.
Democrats currently hold “a nine-in-ten chance” of flipping the House of Representatives, in its opinion, while the Senate’s fate is “a toss-up.”
It warns that while Trump continues to have a golden touch when it comes to dishing out endorsements in Republican primaries – recently securing the ousting of enemies like Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie and Louisiana Rep. Bill Cassidy and advancing Ken Paxton’s MAGA candidacy in the Texas Senate race – his broader unpopularity could ultimately sink his chosen candidates in November.
Digging into opinion on his handling of specific issues, The Economist survey finds his net approval rating on inflation is currently -43, a low for his second term, which it observes is “hardly surprising” given that the blockading of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes, has led to higher gas prices in the U.S. and abroad.
He also scores in the negative on jobs and foreign policy, as well as issues formerly considered a strength like immigration and crime.
The survey finds that Trump is still most likely to receive support in red states that voted for him in 2024 but that dissatisfaction is now “widespread” and is beginning to be expressed in locations he won two years ago.
“The numbers will make anxious reading for Republicans facing competitive races in this year’s midterm elections,” the magazine observes.
A demographic that was said to have played a key role in sweeping the president to victory against Kamala Harris was the youth vote.
That now appears to be falling away into disillusionment, with even normally dependable pensioners “surprisingly lukewarm” on Trump after 500 days of his rollercoaster leadership.
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