President Donald Trump’s approval rating has sunk to its lowest level in three months, matching a November nadir as disapproval hardens heading into a pivotal midterm year.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment via email.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Newsweek in an emailed statement earlier this week that the president has “already made historic progress not only in America but around the world. It is not surprising that [he] remains the most dominant figure in American politics.”
Why It Matters
Sustained negative approval ratings are historically a warning sign for a president’s party in midterm elections.
With Trump deeply underwater, the data suggest a challenging national environment for Republicans in competitive House and Senate races.
What To Know
The new poll was conducted February 5—8, 2026, using the AmeriSpeak Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago.
The survey interviewed 1,156 adults via online and telephone methods, including landlines and cellphones, and carries an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
In that survey, 36 percent of respondents said they approve of Trump’s job performance, while 62 percent disapprove, producing a net approval rating of minus 26 points.
That figure represents Trump’s worst showing with this pollster in three months and matches the low recorded in an AP-NORC survey conducted November 6—10, 2025.
That earlier poll, based on a sample of 1,143 adults with a 3.8-point margin of error, posted the same 36 percent approval and 62 percent disapproval split.
From a trend perspective, the lack of rebound since November is notable.
Approval ratings often fluctuate within a range as events fade and new issues emerge.
Here, however, the February result suggests consolidation rather than recovery, with disapproval remaining firmly above 60 percent.
The broader polling picture tells a similar story.
RealClear Polling’s rolling average places Trump’s approval at 42.1 percent, the lowest level recorded in that aggregator so far in his second term. His net approval in the average stands at minus 13.1 points.
While that is not his lowest-ever net rating in the RealClear series, it matches the November period when his standing deteriorated sharply and aligns with the AP-NORC low.
RealClear Polling aggregates publicly available political polls from established companies to present averages reflecting public opinion, prioritizing recent, reputable surveys and providing full transparency by linking to source polls.
How Trump Is Polling Across Issues
The latest AP-NORC poll reported that 62 percent of U.S. adults believe Trump has gone too far in deploying federal immigration agents into U.S. cities and 61 percent say the same about using federal law enforcement at protests.
It also found that 54 percent say Trump has gone too far in restricting legal immigration and 52 percent say he has gone too far in deportations, with views on deportations similar to April 2025 levels cited by AP-NORC.
Public views of Immigration and Customs Enforcement were 60 percent unfavorable and 32 percent favorable in the new poll, compared with 37 percent unfavorable and 30 percent favorable in 2018, as familiarity with the agency rose.
What People Are Saying
White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Newsweek in an emailed statement: “President Trump was overwhelmingly elected by nearly 80 million Americans to deliver on his popular and common-sense agenda. The President has already made historic progress not only in America but around the world. It is not surprising that President Trump remains the most dominant figure in American politics.”
Trump wrote on Truth Social last week: “The highest Poll Numbers I have ever received. Obviously, people like a strong and powerful Country, with the best economy, EVER!”
CNN polling analyst Harry Enten said: “If you know anything about Donald Trump, you know that he built his two presidential victories on winning voters [who are] without a college degree. Well, Donald Trump’s base with noncollege voters is absolutely collapsing.”
What Happens Next
As more national surveys are released in 2026, analysts will be watching closely for signs of stabilization or further erosion, particularly as midterm campaigns begin to take shape and voter attention intensifies.
