Trump’s Approval Sinks to Record Lows in Two Major Polls as Democrats Open Midterm Lead

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (TodayViralUSA) — President Donald Trump’s job approval has fallen to the lowest levels of his presidency in two major national surveys released this weekend, with roughly two in three Americans disapproving of his performance and Democrats holding a clear edge on the generic congressional ballot just over two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll put Trump’s approval at 33% among U.S. adults, a record low for him across both terms in that series and below the 38% he registered after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. A separate NBC News Decision Desk Poll, powered by SurveyMonkey, found 34% approval and 66% disapproval, a second-term low in that survey.

Democrats lead on the House ballot

In the ABC/Post/Ipsos survey, likely voters backed the Democratic candidate in their congressional district over the Republican by 52% to 44%. The eight-point margin is up from a three-point gap in a July Washington Post-Ipsos poll. Independent likely voters favored Democrats by 21 points, 56% to 35%.

The NBC poll showed registered voters preferring Democratic House candidates 55% to 45%. Among registered voters, Trump’s approval stood at 39% in the NBC survey and 37% in the ABC/Post/Ipsos poll.

Enthusiasm also tilted toward Democrats. In the ABC/Post/Ipsos data, 72% of Democratic voters said they were absolutely certain to vote, compared with 65% of Republican voters.

Costs dominate the national mood

Economic strain is the dominant theme in both surveys. In the NBC poll, 71% of adults said the country is on the “wrong track,” the highest share of Trump’s second term, and only 18% said their finances had improved over the past year, while 44% said they had worsened. Two-thirds said gasoline prices are a serious problem for their families.

The ABC/Post/Ipsos poll found 71% of Americans now call gasoline unaffordable, up from 28% in February, before the war with Iran drove fuel costs higher. Majorities also described groceries, health care and utilities as unaffordable. Just 21% approved of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, and 28% approved of his handling of the economy, a record low for him in that poll.

The cost of living was Trump’s worst-rated issue in the ABC/Post/Ipsos poll, which described it as “perhaps the defining issue for the 2026 midterms.”

Cracks among Republicans

Republican support remains high but softer than earlier in the term. In the ABC/Post/Ipsos survey, 79% of Republicans approved of the president, down from 88% near the start of his second term, and a record-low 39% strongly approved. Immigration remained Trump’s strongest issue in both polls, though majorities still disapproved.

Neither party is popular. NBC found 43% of adults view the Democratic Party favorably and 37% view the Republican Party favorably. Asked which outcome they preferred, 59% of Americans in the ABC/Post/Ipsos poll said they wanted Democrats to control the next Congress as a check on Trump, while 35% preferred Republican control to support his agenda.

About the polls

The ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll surveyed 2,545 U.S. adults Oct. 9-13 through the probability-based Ipsos KnowledgePanel, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. The NBC News Decision Desk Poll surveyed 19,135 adults online from Sept. 28 to Oct. 12, with an estimated margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 points.

Update — Oct. 19, 2026: Reuters/Ipsos finds approval at 31%

A third national survey has found Trump at a record low. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday, 31% of Americans said they approve of his performance, down one point from two weeks earlier and the lowest reading in either of his terms in that poll, Reuters reported.

On the generic congressional ballot, 47% of registered voters said they would back Democrats and 35% Republicans. The 12-point gap is the widest of the cycle in the Reuters/Ipsos series, up from a 7-point Democratic lead, 44% to 37%, two weeks earlier. Much of the shift came from women, who favored Democrats 50% to 32%.

Some 68% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, including 37% of self-identified Republicans, as gasoline prices remain elevated following the U.S. strikes on Iran that began in February. Respondents picked Democrats over Republicans as better stewards of the economy, 40% to 33%. The online poll surveyed 1,679 U.S. adults, including 1,279 registered voters, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points for all respondents and 3 points for registered voters.