President Donald Trump’s approval rating has shifted for the first time in months, according to new data from two national polls.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment via email outside regular business hours.
Why It Matters
As economic anxiety and public debate over foreign policy continue to dominate the national agenda, the change in Trump’s approval rating could have implications for both the White House and congressional prospects ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
What To Know
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll—conducted online on January 4 and 5—surveyed 1,248 U.S. adults nationwide.
The poll showed Trump’s overall approval rating climbing to 42 percent, up from 39 percent in December.
It marks his highest approval rating since October. The margin of error for this survey was about 3 percentage points.
Similarly, a recent InsiderAdvantage poll gave Trump a positive net approval rating of 8.4 points, the strongest since August.
In that survey, 49.5 percent of respondents approved of Trump’s job performance, 41.1 percent disapproved, and 9.1 percent were undecided.
The poll surveyed 800 likely voters on December 20 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.46 percent.
Recent polling aggregates confirm that the president’s approval rating remains underwater, though there has been a modest uptick compared to late 2025.
As of January 6, Decision Desk HQ’s national average places approval at 43.2 percent and disapproval at 53.3 percent, while Ballotpedia’s index shows a similar split of 42 percent approval and 55 percent disapproval.
At the time of writing, VoteHub’s live tracker reported that 42.5 percent approved and 53.9 percent disapproved, reinforcing the consensus that disapproval still exceeded approval by double digits.
Still, this represents a slight improvement from November’s lows near 41 percent. The shift is incremental rather than dramatic, leaving the president with a persistent net-negative rating.
Decision Desk HQ’s polling tracker combines all credible public polls that meet the American Association for Public Opinion Research’s standards into an average, focusing on recent data, limiting the impact of campaign-funded polls and smoothing trends as more polls come in to give a clearer picture of public opinion.
Similarly, Ballotpedia’s index averages the latest polls from trusted national sources over the past 30 days to give an up-to-date picture of public opinion, updating daily as new results come in.
VoteHub, meanwhile, averages recent polls from reputable pollsters, giving more weight to newer polls, to provide a clear and simple snapshot of public opinion.
What People Are Saying
Scott Tranter, the director of data science at Decision Desk HQ, told The Hill: “Roughly a year in, he’s right in the middle. He’s right where, basically, he’s been all year, which is unremarkable. It’s remarkable because it’s unremarkable.”
InsiderAdvantage pollster Matt Towery said in a December analysis: “Interestingly, our recent job performance surveys have shown the number of undecided respondents at an unusually high number. This tells us that some voters, particularly independents, remain unsure as to his accomplishments so far. This suggests he has work to do as he and the GOP enter the midterm season.”
White House spokesperson Kush Desai told Newsweek last month: “President Trump and every member of his administration are clear-eyed about the fact that Americans continue to reel from the lingering effects of Joe Biden’s generational economic crisis.
“Turning the Biden economic disaster around has informed nearly every action the Trump administration has taken since Day One, from unleashing American energy to cut gas prices to signing historic drug pricing deals to cut costs for American patients.
“Much work remains, and every member of the Trump administration continues to focus on recreating the historic job, wage, and economic growth that Americans enjoyed during President Trump’s first term.”
Desai also previously told Newsweek: “President Trump inherited the worst inflation crisis in a generation from Joe Biden’s incompetence, and his administration has rapidly cooled inflation to a 2.5 percent annualized rate. Americans can count on inflation continuing to fall and real wages continuing to rise.”
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social in December: “The polls are rigged even more than the writers. The real number is 64 percent, and why not, our Country is ‘hotter’ than ever before. Isn’t it nice to have a STRONG BORDER, No Inflation, a powerful Military, and great Economy??? Happy New Year!”
What Happens Next
The slight uptick in Trump’s approval rating coincides with major diplomatic and military actions—most notably the U.S. strike on Venezuela—and ongoing debates over economic performance, cost of living and party leadership heading into the midterm elections.
Polls show persistent concern among Americans about both economic and foreign policy developments, with majorities worried about prices, affordability and the U.S.’s role overseas. The administration’s policy decisions—both domestic and international—and the country’s day-to-day economic experiences are expected to be decisive in shaping public opinion and influencing the 2026 midterms.
