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Two new national polls show US President Donald Trump’s approval rating on the economy at the lowest level recorded for either of his terms. Both surveys point to rising frustration over prices and the cost of living.
What the AP-NORC poll found
The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research surveyed 2,140 US adults in late September. Only 26% said they approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, a new low in its polling. That is a 14-point drop from March 2025, soon after he began his second term.
Just 17% approved of his handling of the cost of living.
The poll also asked who people hold responsible for high prices. About 65% said the higher-than-usual prices are the result of Trump’s policies. In October 2022, 44% of Americans said the same about then-President Joe Biden’s policies, according to AP-NORC.
Republicans are also unhappy
AP-NORC said about 7 in 10 Americans see Trump’s handling of the cost of living as worse than they expected. That includes roughly half of Republicans.
About 6 in 10 Republicans disapprove of his handling of the cost of living, up from about half in April. Even so, 67% of Republicans said factors outside his control are more to blame for high prices.
AP-NORC also noted that Trump’s economic rating is close to Biden’s 28% approval in June 2022, a period of record-high inflation.
What the Quinnipiac poll found
Quinnipiac University released its own national poll on September 29. It surveyed 1,032 registered voters from September 24 to 27, with a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.
Among those voters, 31% approved of Trump’s handling of the economy and 65% disapproved. Quinnipiac said this is an all-time low across both his terms. The previous low was 32%, recorded in its September 10 poll.
On Trump’s overall job performance, 34% approved and 61% disapproved. Quinnipiac said that level of disapproval matches the highest it recorded in January 2021.
Iran and the midterms
Quinnipiac also asked about the situation with Iran. Only 28% approved of Trump’s handling of it, while 66% disapproved. That ties his lowest rating on the issue, first recorded in its July 29 poll.
The poll also asked about the midterm elections. If the election were held today, 51% of voters said they would want Democrats to win control of the House of Representatives, and 39% said Republicans. On the economy, 48% said the Democratic Party could handle it better, against 42% for the Republican Party.
What happens next
The midterm elections are scheduled for November. Both pollsters measured opinion before that vote, and approval numbers can change from one survey to the next.
No response from the White House to these two polls was found at the time of writing.
Disclaimer: Details may change as new polls and information are released. Readers should verify the latest figures before relying on them.
Note for you, not for publishing: I could not open the AP page directly (blocked), so the AP-NORC figures come from syndicated AP text. Also, the story is current (reported October 1 to 2, 2026), so the figures above replace the older version.
