dpAug. 11, 2026, 3:37 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to yet another low since his return to the White House, according to a new Economist/YouGov poll, which also found that just 1 in 3 Americans approve of his job performance.
The survey, released Aug. 11, found that 33% of Americans approve of Trump’s performance, down 3 percentage points from the previous week. This marks the lowest approval rating the president has seen in YouGov tracking since he returned to office in 2025.
Apart from his continued slump in the polls, a majority of Americans, 60%, said they perceived the president as “not honest and trustworthy”. According to the newest poll, 65% of respondents said the country is headed in the wrong direction, up 2 percentage points from the Economist/YouGov’s poll in late July.
The latest poll also found that Trump’s age continues to concern the American public, with 53% saying they believed the 80-year-old president was too old to be in the White House.
The Economist/YouGov poll was conducted Aug. 7-10 among 1,589 U.S. adults. The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
Trump struggles boost Democrats
Trump’s slide in the polls in recent weeks could signify good news for Democrats ahead of November’s midterm elections. In the newest Economist/YouGov poll, Democrats hold an 8-point lead over the GOP in a generic congressional ballot.
That lead has held in other surveys, as a poll released by Marquette Law School on Aug. 5 showed Democrats holding a 6-point advantage over Republicans. Another survey released Aug. 3 by Reuters/Ipsos had the Democratic Party holding a 5-point lead over the GOP.
Last week, Trump said the Republican base is angry at the party’s leadership in Congress, not him, ahead of the midterms.
“A lot of them are very angry at Republicans, to be honest with you,” Trump said in an interview with Punchbowl News. “They’re angry at Republicans, but they’re not angry at me.”
The president’s remarks came as he dismissed his current approval ratings by defending his popularity, specifically pointing to his 2024 election wins in several states.
“I have records in many of the states,” Trump said. “The question is … if I don’t run, will those people go out and vote? And that’s the one thing I can’t tell you. I’m going to ask them to.”
Americans say Trump is abusing office
Aside from Trump’s continued struggles with his approval rating, a majority of respondents in the newest poll also said they believed the president is using his presidential powers for his own benefit.
According to the Economist/YouGov poll, 61% of respondents said they believed Trump was using his office for personal gain, and 55% said they believed the president was using the Department of Justice to go after his political enemies.
Trump’s controversial East Wing ballroom in the White House has also remained unpopular with Americans, with 57% saying they oppose it.
What do polling averages show?
While individual polls vary, major polling averages continue to show Trump in negative territory overall:
USA TODAY’s Kinsey Crowley contributed to this report.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
