What is Trump's approval rating? Gallup poll finds Republicans souring on state of US

Trump is keeping promises but not delivering results.  The One Big Beautiful Bill killed all the culture war talking points.  And the memorial for Charlie Kirk showed that the MAGA movement doesn't need Trump any longer.  Now Trump is running out of things to do so he just throws crap at the wall hoping something sticks.

Trump is going to become a lame duck before the midterm elections get here.

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T

American satisfaction with how things are going in the U.S. has slipped to its lowest point since President Donald Trump took office, according to a September poll from Gallup.

The poll, conducted from Sept. 2-16, found 29% of Americans said they are satisified, and Republicans account for most of the decline from 31% in August, according to Gallup. The satisfaction rate is still higher than the 20% in January before Trump's inauguration.

The murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk occurred as the poll was being taken, and Gallup found it weighed on Americans' opinions, especially for Republicans.

When asked about the "most important problem facing this country ... mentions of crime or violence have more than doubled over the past month, rising from 3% in August to 8% in September — the highest level since August 2020, and before that, 2002," Gallup reported.

The crime mentions increased most after Sept. 10, the day Kirk was shot in front of thousands at a Utah Valley University speaking event. "National unity" was also found by Gallup to be a growing concern, mentioned at the highest rate since January 2021 following the riots at the U.S. Capitol.

While dissatisfaction with the country is up, Trump's approval rating stayed steady in September compared to August, Gallup found. What is it?

Trump's approval rating is low compared to other presidents

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:

• Joe Biden (September 2021) - 43% approve
• Trump (September 2017) - 37% approve
• Barack Obama (September 2009) - 52% approve
• George W. Bush (September 2001) - 76% approve
• Bill Clinton (September 1993) - 50% approve
• George H.W. Bush (September 1989) - 70% approve
• Ronald Reagan (September 1981) - 52% approve

Gallup surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults with a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

What is Trump's average approval overall?

RealClearPolitics Poll Average shows the gap between those who disapprove of Trump and those who approve has been widening and becoming more negative for more than a week. A time graph by the New York Times show a similar trend.

As of Jan. 27, Trump received a +6.2 percentage point approval rating, but as of March 13, it flipped to slightly negative, the RealClearPolitics graphics show. The approval rating reached its most negative on April 29 at -7.2 percentage points, which fell around Trump's 100-day mark. It came close to that low again on July 22 and July 23 at -7.1 percentage points, as the controversy over convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein carried into its third week.

His average approval rating margin as of Sept. 23, according to RealClearPolitics, is -6.5 percentage points. The approval margin according to the New York Times aggregator on Sept. 23 is -11 percentage points.

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.