The warning lights are flashing red for President Trump — and even the most loyal corners of his base are starting to notice the glare.
A wave of major polls released in March and April 2026 shows Trump’s approval rating sliding to new second-term lows, with Americans souring on his handling of the economy, immigration and the ongoing war with Iran. Taken together, the numbers paint the bleakest portrait yet of a presidency struggling to hold public confidence six months before the midterm elections.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll published April 21 pegged Trump’s approval at 36%, matching his low from a Reuters survey released March 23 and down four points from a separate Reuters poll taken earlier that month. A Strength in Numbers–Verasight poll landed at 35%. An AP-NORC survey put him at just 33%. And an NBC News Decision Desk poll released April 19 registered 37% approval — the lowest mark of his second term in that series.
“A trio of political polls indicate public approval of Donald Trump’s management of the US economy, immigration and the Iran conflict is slipping, flashing warning lights for Trump-aligned Republican candidates with six months to go until the US midterm elections,” The Guardian reported.
Pocketbook Pain Drags Down the President
Nowhere is the erosion sharper than on kitchen-table issues. The AP-NORC poll found Trump’s approval on the economy has collapsed to 30%, down from 38% in March. About seven in 10 Americans described the economy as poor, and roughly 72% said the country is headed in the wrong direction.
On the cost of living, the numbers are brutal: just 23% approve of Trump’s handling of the issue, while 76% disapprove.
The NBC News poll tells a similar story. Only 32% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of inflation and the cost of living, while 68% disapprove — and 52% strongly disapprove. When asked which economic issue matters most, 45% chose inflation and rising prices, dwarfing every other option. Forty percent said their personal finances are worse than a year ago; only 19% said they are better, the worst reading of Trump’s second term in NBC’s polling.
Gas prices are biting too. Nearly two-thirds of Americans said gas prices have been a problem for their family, with 29% calling them a serious problem and 36% calling them somewhat serious.
Iran War Sours Public Mood
As the Iran war approaches the two-month mark, two-thirds of Americans — 67% — disapprove of Trump’s handling of it in the NBC poll. Only one-third approve. Nearly all Democrats and 82% of independents disapprove, while 74% of Republicans back the president’s approach. A 61% majority said the U.S. should not take any further military action in Iran. In the Reuters/Ipsos survey, support for U.S. military strikes sits at 36%, a slight uptick from 35% in an earlier April poll.
Immigration, once a strength, is eroding as well. Trump’s approval on border security and immigration stands at 44% in the NBC poll, up slightly from earlier this year — but well below the high-40s he enjoyed in the first months after his January 2025 inauguration. His signature deportation push may become an outright liability: a separate Reuters/Ipsos poll found 52% of Americans said they are less likely to support a candidate who backs Trump’s deportation approach, compared with 42% who said they are more likely. Among independents, the split is wider — 57% prefer a candidate who opposes the deportations, while only 32% prefer one who supports them.
Cracks Appearing in the GOP Base
Trump’s base is holding — but barely. The NBC poll shows 83% of Republicans give Trump a positive rating, down four points from earlier this year. The share who strongly approve slid from 58% to 52%. Republican approval of his inflation handling dropped 10 points from last summer, to 73%.
NBC News reporters wrote that two-thirds of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track — “the most pessimistic outlook in Decision Desk polling since Trump retook office last year.” The poll results underscore the challenges Republicans face as they defend their majorities in Congress ahead of November’s midterm elections.
The economy ranked as the top issue for 29% of voters in the NBC poll, followed by threats to democracy at 24%, health care at 12% and crime and safety at 10%.
Temperament and Sharpness Questioned
The Reuters/Ipsos survey of 4,557 Americans, conducted April 15–20 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points, also probed personal impressions of the 79-year-old president. Seventy-one percent said Trump is not “even-tempered,” while 26% said he is. Republicans split nearly evenly — 53% consider him even-tempered, 46% do not. Ninety-two percent of Democrats and nearly three-quarters of independents said he is not.
On mental sharpness, 51% of Americans believe Trump’s has worsened, 40% think it has stayed the same, and just 6% say it has improved. Eighty-five percent of Democrats and 54% of independents said his sharpness has declined, along with 14% of Republicans.
Even against the backdrop of his public clash with Pope Leo XIV, Americans view the pontiff far more warmly than the president: 60% hold a favorable view of Pope Leo, compared with 36% for Trump.
With Vice President Vance and Republican candidates preparing to defend congressional majorities in November, the polling leaves little room for spin. The economy is underwater. The war is unpopular. Immigration enthusiasm has faded. And the president’s own base, while still loyal, is no longer immovable.
