Donald Trump Disapproval Rating Hits New High
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President Donald Trump's disapproval rating has hit a record high for his second term, according to a new poll.
The latest Atlas Intel survey, conducted between July 13 and 18 among 1,935 respondents, put Trump's disapproval rating at 55 percent, up from 54 percent last month.
Meanwhile, his approval rating stands at 44 percent, down from 45 percent last month, giving the president a net approval rating of -11 points—the lowest so far of his second term.
The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Why It Matters
The president had seen an uptick in approval ratings in several polls following an earlier plunge to an all-time low for his second term after protests in Los Angeles and airstrikes in Iran.
However, new polls indicate that Trump's approval rating is slipping. If the trend continues, Democrats could regain ground they lost in the last election cycle, reshaping the 2026 midterms and the broader balance of power heading into 2028.
President Donald Trump at a dinner for Republican senators in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 18.
President Donald Trump at a dinner for Republican senators in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 18.
Alex Brandon/AP
What To Know
Atlas polling shows disapproval growing over Trump's handling of every issue measured.
The sharpest drop was on the national debt, where 34 percent rated Trump's handling as "excellent" or "good," compared to 59 percent who said it was "terrible" or "poor"—a record-high disapproval figure and a 25-point negative gap.
That's a steep decline from February, when views were more evenly split: 50 percent poor versus 48 percent good.
Health care, another flash point, has seen positive ratings fall from 40 percent in January to 35 percent in July. Meanwhile, disapproval has increased from 52 percent to 56 percent, even before many of the bill's Medicaid eligibility restrictions and work requirements take effect.
Similarly, Trump's marks on "safeguarding democracy" have eroded. Now, 40 percent of respondents rate his performance positively, down from 48 percent at the beginning of the year. Disapproval has climbed to 56 percent.
On immigration—long one of Trump's signature issues—views have flipped. In January, the public was split—51 percent positive to 48 percent negative. As of July, 54 percent now said Trump was doing a poor job, compared to 45 percent who approved.
The U.S. economy remains a slightly stronger area for Trump, but even there, disapproval (55 percent) clearly outpaced approval (40 percent). The same trend is reflected in views of his handling of U.S.-China competition, with a growing 12-point negative gap.
Analysis by pollster G. Elliott Morris also showed Trump underwater on every key issue, especially regarding his handling of the Epstein files.
Trump's approval ratings have been in decline since he signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act earlier this month, which proposes cuts to key services such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Atlas' poll showed that 53 percent of voters had a negative view of the bill. Meanwhile, broader sentiment remained negative, with 54 percent rating Trump's performance as poor or very poor.
Other polls have shown Trump's net approval rating at an all-time low in recent days.
That includes the most recent Big Data Poll survey, conducted July 12 to 14, which showed 48 percent of voters approving of Trump's performance, while 49 percent disapproved.
The downward trend contrasts with earlier in the year. In May, Big Data Poll had Trump narrowly above water, with 48 percent of respondents approving and 47 percent disapproving. That figure was already a notable drop from January, shortly after Trump returned to office, when the pollster recorded one of his strongest ratings: 56 percent approval and 37 percent disapproval, a net positive of 19 percentage points.
An Economist/YouGov poll, conducted between July 11 and 14, also showed deterioration. Trump's net rating slipped to an all-time low of -14 (41–55), down from -11 earlier this month.
Even Echelon Insights, which has at times offered more favorable numbers for the president, showed his position weakening—with approval falling from -4 to an all-time low of -8 (45–53).
Newsweek's tracker showed the same result. However, that was up from a second-term low of -11 points on July 18.
Ipsos/Reuters, meanwhile, showed Trump holding steady at -13 (41–54), unchanged from early June. Quinnipiac's poll also remained relatively unchanged but still underwater, holding at -14 (40–54).
Similarly, a new poll from Quantus Insights showed no gain from the previous wave, holding steady at -2 (48–50), suggesting a ceiling may be forming even among Trump-leaning pollsters.
One of the few bright spots came from Morning Consult, where Trump improved slightly from a -6 net rating to -3 (47–50). AP-NORC also showed marginal movement in Trump's favor, rising from -21 to -18 (40–58)—though the president remains deeply unpopular in that survey.
In the latest RMG Research poll, Trump's net approval was +4 points, up by 1 point.
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