President Trump is heading into the 2026 midterms with a 36% job approval rating and 64% disapproval, a fresh -NORC poll found. The survey, conducted Oct. 8-12, shows voters grading him far more harshly than approvingly as the election season tightens.
That is why the Donald Trump approval rating search is drawing attention now: voters are not just reacting to Trump, they are using him as a test case for the election ahead. The poll found that 85% of voters say the economy is among the most important issues, 84% say the same about the cost of living, and 69% put health care near the top of their list.
The numbers point to a public mood that is far more negative than supportive. About three quarters of voters disapprove of how Trump is handling the economy, and about three quarters disapprove of how he is handling the cost of living. Crime is one of his stronger areas, with 45% approving of his handling of that issue, but that edge does little to lift his broader standing.
The poll was carried out by -NORC using the AmeriSpeak® Panel, a probability-based panel from NORC at the University of Chicago. It included online and telephone interviews with 1,119 adults and has an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. It also found that 8 in 10 voters want substantial change or complete and total upheaval in how the country is run, while only 1 in 10 say they feel optimistic about the state of U.S. politics.
There is also a political imbalance behind the presidential numbers. Forty-seven percent of voters favor Democratic control of the House of Representatives, 46% favor Democratic control of the Senate, and 38% would prefer Republicans to keep both chambers. Trump’s standing is weak enough that about a third of voters view him favorably, and that same rough share extends to Vice President JD Vance and the Republican Party. The Democratic Party fares slightly better, with 40% holding a favorable view.
For Trump, the headline number is not just that most voters disapprove. It is that his weakest issues are the ones voters care about most. The election is still ahead, but the poll suggests the argument will start from a difficult place for the president and his party.
