President Donald Trump has had a whirlwind first eight months in office. While his actions are often unconventional and unprecedented, they have had little impact on his approval ratings in recent months.
Trump has deployed troops in American cities, issued (and changed) widespread tariffs and stirred many a controversy in the name of trolling his political opponents. He has been taken to court repeatedly as he tests the limits of the executive branch's power.
While his approval rating is historically low compared to other presidents (only his first presidency was worse), it has also mostly plateaued since he passed his 100-day mark.
Now, he must face another popularity challenge: the government shutdown that started Oct. 1. Both Democrats and Republicans are trying to pin it on the other party.
What is Trump's approval rating? Here is what we know:
Demonstrators attend a “We Are All D.C." march to protest against national guard troops in Washington, D.C., Sept. 6, 2025.
A New York Times/Siena poll taken Sept. 22-27 among 1,313 registered voters found Trump's approval rating held steady at 43%. (The margin of error among those likely to vote is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.)
"At the start of his term, Mr. Trump’s approval rating fell from its post-election highs, and it remains weak compared with his predecessors at this point in their presidencies," the New York Times reported. "But over the last several months, his rating has been resilient and stable, reflecting that most voters’ opinions on him have hardened."
The poll was published as the country was headed for a government shutdown, which started Oct. 1.
The poll found most U.S. voters surveyed said both parties would be at fault for a shutdown, at 33%. Yet between the two parties, a little more than a quarter of respondents, 26%, said they would blame congressional Republicans and Trump, and 19% pointed their fingers at the Democrats. Another 21% said they had not heard enough about the shutdown to say who was responsible.
A Pew survey conducted Sept. 22-28 among 3,445 U.S. adults found Trump's approval rating stands at 40%, up slightly since August and on par with April and June. (The poll's margin of error is 1.9 percentage points.)
The poll also found more Democrats disapproved than approved of their own party leaders' job performance in Congress, with 59% disapproving and 40% approving. The pollster said it marked the first time Democrats held such negative opinions in more than a decade of Pew Research Center surveys. In the last such survey, in 2023, these figures were nearly the reverse: A total of 61% of Democrats approved of their congressional leaders’ job performance and 37% disapproved.
Conversely, Republicans in the poll gave their party’s leadership in Congress a much higher approval rating than in recent years: 69% of Republicans approved of the job that GOP congressional leaders are doing. That's up from 54% approval in 2023.
An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,656 U.S. adult citizens taken Sept. 26-29 found Trump recieved 40% approval. The pollster said he hit a term low two weeks ago at 39% approval. (The margin of error for the overall sample is about 3.5%.)
The poll also found 19% of Americans think the economy is getting better, while 53% think it is getting worse. Republicans' views of the direction of the economy also appear to be getting worse, with the lowest margin in this term (41% of Republicans say it is getting better and 22% say it is getting worse, the poll found).
In a Gallup poll conducted from Sept. 2-16, 40% approved of Trump's job performance, unchanged from the previous month.
A historical analysis by Gallup shows Trump's approval ratings in September of his first years in office − both as the 45th and 47th presidents − are lower than any other modern president at the same time in their administrations. Here is how his September approval compares to other presidents in September of their first year of their term, according to Gallup:
Averages based on RealClearPolitics Poll and New York Times aggregators show Trump's approval rating has been trending downward slightly for nearly two weeks after remaining relatively steady for the previous two months.
As of Jan. 27, 50.5% approved, giving Trump a net positive rating until March 13, when it flipped to net negative with 47.8% approval, compared to 48.5% disapproval, RealClearPolitics graphics show. The approval rating reached a low on April 29 at 45.1% approval, which fell around Trump's 100-day mark. It reached a new low on Sept. 30, the day before the government shutdown started, at 44.8% approving.
The New York Times aggregator showed Trump's approval fell from 52% approval in January to 44% approval in April, and has held steady since. According to the Times, Trump's term low is 43% approval, which he first reached on Aug. 21.
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.
