Trump’s approval rating is stuck at 39 percent, and a new Fox News poll found that a quarter of Republican voters believe he made the economy worse, a defection inside his own party that is helping widen the Democratic lead heading into the 2026 midterms.
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The survey, released Wednesday and conducted September 11 through 14 among 1,211 registered voters, found 61 percent of voters disapprove of the job Trump is doing. That approval rating has not climbed above 39 percent since April, when it stood at 42 percent. Overall, 63 percent of all voters, including that quarter of Republicans, said the Trump administration has made the economy worse.The economy is driving almost everything else in the poll. Sixty-one percent of voters called gas prices a major problem, up from 48 percent two years ago. Healthcare costs followed at 52 percent, up from 44 percent. Grocery prices and housing costs are also weighing on voters, even though both numbers have eased slightly from where they stood two years ago. Views on tariffs have soured too, with 64 percent of voters now saying tariffs are hurting the economy, up from 57 percent last summer.
That frustration is showing up directly in the generic ballot, the question pollsters ask voters about whether they would rather send a Democrat or a Republican to Congress without naming specific candidates. Fifty-one percent said they would back the Democrat in their district, compared to 44 percent for the Republican, a 7-point Democratic edge. Among voters who say they are certain to vote, that lead grows to 11 points, 54 to 43. Even in the closest counties, the ones decided by 10 points or less in the 2024 race between Trump and Kamala Harris, Democrats are favored by 9 points.
Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News Poll alongside Democratic pollster Chris Anderson, said the numbers come down to one thing.
“When pundits and analysts talk about the fundamentals favoring the Democrats in this midterm, they are mostly referring to the economy,” Shaw said. He also had a warning for the administration with less than two months before Election Day. “Time is running out for the administration and its supporters to convince voters that things are improving.”
Trump’s approval rating outside the economy is not much better. His favorability sits underwater by 24 points, 38 percent favorable to 62 percent unfavorable, a number that has not moved since July. Fifty-three percent of voters say his administration is more corrupt than past administrations, compared to 26 percent who say it is less corrupt. On foreign policy, 60 percent said the United States made the wrong call taking military action against Iran, and 77 percent of that group said they favor the Democratic candidate in their district.
Trump’s own endorsement is now working against Republican candidates in a way it was not four years ago. Today, 51 percent of voters say a Trump endorsement makes them less likely to support a candidate, compared to 25 percent who say it makes them more likely, a 26-point gap. Four years ago that gap was only 15 points. Still, Trump holds real sway inside his own party. Fifty-two percent of Republicans, and 75 percent of Republicans who identify as MAGA, say his endorsement boosts their support for a candidate.
Only 8 percent of voters said they are enthusiastic about how the government is currently working, with another 23 percent saying they are satisfied. That leaves 68 percent unhappy, including 33 percent who describe themselves as angry, driven mostly by 56 percent of Democrats and 36 percent of independents. Looking further out, 68 percent of voters said they believe life will be worse for the next generation, up from 53 percent two years ago.
The poll was conducted under the direction of Beacon Research, run by Chris Anderson, and Shaw & Company Research, run by Daron Shaw, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
