{"id":1556,"date":"2026-05-18T15:39:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T15:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1556"},"modified":"2026-05-18T15:39:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T15:39:39","slug":"donald-trumps-approval-rating-sinks-to-lowest-point-of-second-term","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1556","title":{"rendered":"Donald Trump\u2019s approval rating sinks to lowest point of second term"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"924942ce-c164-443f-90b2-7e480ba1386e\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"a man points while speaking into a microphone\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/2ac8ff0f1a735bd41f3ff36f7bfdec840daf2cd3\/0_0_5461_3641\/master\/5461.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"310.02838308002197\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Donald Trump speaks to journalists before boarding Air Force One on 2 May 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida.<\/span> Photograph: Roberto Schmidt\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"924942ce-c164-443f-90b2-7e480ba1386e\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Donald Trump speaks to journalists before boarding Air Force One on 2 May 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida.<\/span> Photograph: Roberto Schmidt\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">Donald Trump\u2019s approval rating sinks to lowest point of second term<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>US president\u2019s approval rating falls to 37% days after he said Americans\u2019 financial situation is not motivating him to broker deal with Iran<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> approval rating has fallen to its lowest point of his second term, amid mounting frustration over the cost of living and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/us-israel-war-on-iran\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">US-Israel war on Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">As November\u2019s US midterm elections loom, most American voters believe Trump\u2019s decision to go to war with Iran was the wrong choice, according to polling released on Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The US president\u2019s approval rating has declined to 37%, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/18\/us\/politics\/poll-trump-republicans-midterms-iran.html\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">New York Times\/Siena poll<\/a>: the lowest level since his return to office in January 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Presidential approval ratings have historically provided a strong sense of how the party of the White House incumbent will likely fare in upcoming elections.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"b79e8567-4e7e-45e3-9829-a54734d8aded\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-47fhrn\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-4 | 4\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1kyw41h\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-1bg5532\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/09\/trumps-low-approval-ratings-republicans-self-destruction-democrats-senate\" class=\"dcr-1m887w9\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-ut4tvs\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1h5b6rb\">\n<div class=\"dcr-169d7yv\">With Trump\u2019s low approval rating and Republicans\u2019 \u2018self-destruction\u2019, can Democrats take the Senate?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-eurq8n\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fkf7vq\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">As the war on Iran drags on, and Trump debates his next steps, nearly two-thirds of voters said entering the conflict had been the wrong call. Fewer than one in four Americans said the war had been worth the costs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Those economic costs have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/apr\/03\/asia-fuel-crisis-iran-war-ordinary-workers\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">materialized across the world<\/a> since the US and Israel first attacked Iran in late February. Last week, Trump said: \u201cI don\u2019t think about Americans\u2019 financial situation,\u201d when asked if <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/13\/trump-iran-war-americans-finances\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">the economic hardship inflicted on Americans<\/a> was motivating him to seek a peace deal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The nationwide average US fuel price \u2013 a key benchmark for economic and affordability concerns ahead of elections \u2013 now stands at almost $4.52 per gallon, according <a href=\"https:\/\/gasprices.aaa.com\/state-gas-price-averages\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">to the latest data<\/a> from AAA, up from $3.18 a year ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">An estimated 64% of US voters disapprove of Trump\u2019s handling of the economy, an issue long seen as Trump\u2019s political bedrock, according to the the Times\/Siena poll. A majority of US voters also gave him poor marks on his management of the cost of living, immigration and the Israel-Palestine issue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Among independent voters, 47% say his policies have personally hurt them, compared with 41% last fall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Trump\u2019s approval rating has been in decline for some time. By October 2025, 10 months after his return to office, it had already fallen to 42%, the same level Joe Biden had reached more than three years into this term, in April 2024, according to researchers at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uml.edu\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/national-poll-10292025.aspx\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">University of Massachusetts Lowell<\/a>. The researchers noted at the time that all the goodwill from his election victory appeared to have drained away.<\/p>\n<figure data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.NewsletterSignupBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-ri3hap\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The administration\u2019s heavy-handed approach to deportations, including confrontations in which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jan\/29\/who-is-alex-pretti-ice-minneapolis-shooting\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">two<\/a> US <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jan\/12\/renee-good-family-ice-killing-statement\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">citizens<\/a> were killed by federal agents, undermined his support. But the fallout from the decision to join Israel in striking Iran, and the oil crisis that followed, appears to have hastened the decline.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">John Johnson, a 78-year-old contractor from Crescent Springs, Kentucky, who voted for Trump, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/09\/trumps-low-approval-ratings-republicans-self-destruction-democrats-senate\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">told the Guardian this month<\/a>. \u201cEverybody\u2019s suffering from gas prices,\u201d he said. On the war itself, he added: \u201cIs it handled right? I don\u2019t think so. It could have been handled differently, diplomatically more so.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"eaea256d-dcc3-407d-9108-d60981caabcb\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-47fhrn\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-14 | 14\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1kyw41h\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-1bg5532\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/apr\/03\/asia-fuel-crisis-iran-war-ordinary-workers\" class=\"dcr-1m887w9\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-ut4tvs\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1h5b6rb\">\n<div class=\"dcr-169d7yv\">A day in the life of Asia\u2019s fuel crisis<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-eurq8n\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fkf7vq\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">But the poll is not a straightforward win for Democrats, either. Only 26% of voters said they were satisfied with the Democratic party, and 44% of Democrats expressed dissatisfaction with their own party.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-midterm-elections-2026\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US midterm elections 2026<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/us-israel-war-on-iran\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US-Israel war on Iran<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/business\/useconomy\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US economy<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/business\/economics\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Economics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/trump-administration\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Trump administration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Donald%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20approval%20rating%20sinks%20to%20lowest%20point%20of%20second%20term&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/18\/donald-trump-second-term-approval-rating-drops?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F18%2Fdonald-trump-second-term-approval-rating-drops&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/18\/donald-trump-second-term-approval-rating-drops\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Donald Trump speaks to journalists before boarding Air Force One on 2 May 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1556"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1559,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1556\/revisions\/1559"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}