Trump Approval Rating Falls to Record Low 31% as Midterms Near, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to a record low of 31%, with Americans rattled by high gasoline prices appearing ready to punish his Republican Party in the November 3 congressional elections, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday. The Trump approval rating is now at the lowest level of either of his presidential terms, a finding that lands just two weeks before voters decide control of the U.S. House and Senate.

The four-day national poll found Trump’s rating down a percentage point from two weeks earlier, extending a slide that has accelerated as the cost of living — led by a surge in gasoline and diesel prices following the war with Iran — dominates voters’ minds. When asked which party they would back if the congressional elections were held today, 47% of registered voters picked Democrats and 35% chose Republicans, a 12-point Democratic advantage that is the widest of the current election cycle, according to Reuters.

The Trump Approval Rating Poll: The Key Numbers

Reuters reported that the survey, conducted online, gathered responses from 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. The generic ballot question — which party voters would support in a congressional race — is a national measure of sentiment rather than a forecast of individual district races, where Republicans retain some structural advantages.

The 47% to 35% Democratic lead could still bolster Democratic hopes of seizing control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, Reuters noted. For Republicans, losing control of either chamber would complicate Trump’s agenda in the final two years of his term.

The poll is the latest in a string of grim readings for the White House. A Reuters/Ipsos survey completed on October 5 found Trump’s approval at 32% — then a record low — with just 24% of Hispanic voters giving him a thumbs up, the lowest share among Hispanics of either of his terms. A follow-up poll published October 8 found the 32% figure holding, and documented a notable shift among men: a group Trump won by 12 points in 2024 now favored Democrats over Republicans in a congressional race, 43% to 39%.

Why Trump’s Numbers Are Falling: Gas Prices, the Iran War and the Cost of Living

Reuters has linked the slide to voter anger over the high cost of living amid a surge in gasoline and diesel prices following the war with Iran, which Trump launched in February despite campaigning on promises not to start new conflicts and to lower costs for consumers. Brent crude prices have been probing five-month highs above $111 a barrel amid the Middle East violence, according to Reuters’ markets coverage.

Cost of living is the top issue on Americans’ minds as they decide how they will vote next month, the Reuters/Ipsos polling has found. Voters cited democratic values as the second-biggest issue, followed by immigration, according to the October 8 survey.

The erosion has cut across nearly every major demographic. Support for Trump has fallen since January 2025 among Hispanics, men, rural and suburban voters, people without college degrees and evangelical Christians, Reuters reported. Hispanic voters, who helped propel Trump to victory in 2024 when he won nearly half their vote, have drifted away: in the October 5 poll, only 26% of Hispanic registered voters planned to vote Republican on November 3, while 52% planned to back Democrats — about double the Republican share and the largest Democratic advantage among Hispanics since Trump took office, according to Reuters.

One remaining Republican bright spot is older voters, a crucial bloc in midterm elections. Voters 50 and older still favor the Republican Party over Democrats by 2 percentage points, 44% to 42%, though that edge is down from an 8-point Republican advantage in December, Reuters reported.

What the Record-Low Trump Approval Rating Means for the November 3 Midterms

With Election Day two weeks out, the poll’s most alarming signal for Republicans may be enthusiasm. The October 8 Reuters/Ipsos survey found Trump voters markedly less excited about voting than Democratic voters, a classic warning sign of a midterm wave against the party in power.

Republicans enter the final stretch defending control of Congress against a Democratic Party that has been unified in hammering the administration over fuel prices and the Iran war’s economic fallout. Still, generic ballot polls provide only an overall view of national sentiment; they do not capture the district-by-district and state-by-state contests that decide control of the House and Senate.

The White House has not commented publicly on the latest poll. Trump has instead pressed ahead with an aggressive closing campaign schedule and continued to argue that voters will reward his party once his economic and foreign-policy moves — including his controversial diesel deal with Russia — take effect.

Read our earlier coverage: Midterm battle map: Republicans on defense in Nebraska and Ohio Senate races and Trump’s 32-day campaign tour for the midterms.

FAQ: Trump Approval Rating at a Record Low

What is Trump’s approval rating in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll?

Some 31% of Americans approve of Trump’s performance in office, down a percentage point from two weeks earlier and the lowest level in either of his presidential terms, according to a four-day Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed Monday, October 19, 2026.

How does the generic ballot look ahead of the midterms?

In the poll’s generic ballot question, 47% of registered voters picked Democrats and 35% chose Republicans in a congressional race — a 12-point Democratic advantage, the widest of the current election cycle. Such national polls measure sentiment, not district-by-district outcomes.

Why is Trump’s approval rating falling?

Reuters links the slide to voter concerns about the high cost of living, especially gasoline and diesel prices that have surged following the war with Iran. Polling found cost of living is voters’ top issue, followed by democratic values and immigration. Support has fallen across nearly every major demographic since January 2025.

When are the 2026 midterm elections?

The congressional elections are on November 3, 2026. Voters will decide control of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate during the last two years of Trump’s current term.