President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level in YouGov tracking since he returned to the White House in 2025, with a new Economist/YouGov survey putting his job approval at 33%.
The poll, released on August 11, shows Trump slipping three percentage points from the previous week. Put another way, only about one in three Americans surveyed said they approve of the job he is doing.
The decline comes alongside a wider set of findings that point to dissatisfaction extending beyond Trump’s overall approval number. Nearly two-thirds of respondents, 65%, said the United States is headed in the wrong direction, an increase of two percentage points from the Economist/YouGov survey conducted in late July.
Trust and age emerge as major concerns
The survey found that 60% of Americans do not view Trump as honest and trustworthy.
Age is another area where voters expressed concern. Trump is 80, and 53% of respondents said they believe he is too old to be serving in the White House.
Those numbers give the approval-rating decline a broader context. The latest results are not limited to whether voters approve or disapprove of the president’s overall performance. They also capture concerns about trust, age and the direction of the country.
The Economist/YouGov poll was conducted from August 7 through August 10 among 1,589 US adults. It carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
Democrats hold an 8-point congressional ballot lead
The political implications could become particularly important as the November midterm elections approach.
In the same Economist/YouGov survey, Democrats held an eight-point advantage over Republicans on the generic congressional ballot. That finding is broadly in line with two other surveys cited alongside the latest results.
A Marquette Law School poll released August 5 showed Democrats leading Republicans by six points, while an August 3 Reuters/Ipsos survey gave the Democratic Party a five-point advantage over the GOP.
Trump, however, has pushed back against the idea that dissatisfaction within the Republican base is primarily directed at him.
In an interview with Punchbowl News last week, Trump said Republican voters were angry with the party’s congressional leadership rather than with him. He also defended his political strength by pointing to his performance in several states during the 2024 election and raised the question of whether those voters would turn out if he were not on the ballot.
That distinction could matter in the midterms, when Trump himself will not be running but Republicans will be relying on many of the voters who supported him in the presidential election.
61% say Donald Trump is using office for personal gain
Some of the poll’s sharpest findings concern how Americans view Trump’s use of presidential power.
The survey found that 61% of respondents believe Trump is using the presidency for his own personal gain. Another 55% said they believe he is using the Department of Justice to target his political enemies.
The poll also tested public sentiment toward Trump’s East Wing ballroom at the White House. Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they oppose it.
Taken together, those findings show that the president’s difficulties in the survey extend into questions about the use of government power and decisions associated with his administration.
Polling averages also keep Trump in negative territory
The 33% approval figure is an individual poll result, and other measures place Trump somewhat higher. Even so, the major polling averages cited on August 11 all showed more Americans disapproving than approving of his performance.
RealClearPolitics put Trump at 39.2% approval and 58.6% disapproval. The New York Times average showed 37% approval against 59% disapproval, while Silver Bulletin had him at 38.1% approval and 58.5% disapproval.
The exact figures vary depending on the polling source and methodology, but the direction across those averages is consistent: Trump remains underwater nationally.
For the White House, the Economist/YouGov findings present a particularly difficult combination. Approval has reached a new low in YouGov’s tracking of Trump’s current presidency, most respondents say the country is moving in the wrong direction, and Democrats are holding an advantage on the congressional ballot with the midterms drawing closer.
Whether those numbers persist will depend on how public opinion develops in the months ahead, but the August survey provides a clear snapshot of the political environment Trump and congressional Republicans are facing.
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