REPUBLICANS HAVE passed the first major legislative achievement of Donald Trump’s second term: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. It extends tax cuts enacted during his first term, funded by reductions in government welfare programmes and a substantial increase in deficit spending. Polling by The Economist and YouGov suggests Americans oppose the act by a margin of 18 percentage points. After Mr Trump signed it into law on July 4th public approval of his handling of health care and taxes and government spending tumbled.
Although Mr Trump cannot run for re-election in 2028, he is not impervious to public opinion. His second term will be shaped, and constrained, by the views and priorities of ordinary Americans. On this page The Economist is tracking their opinions week by week, throughout his presidency. Since his inauguration, YouGov has asked respondents whether they approve or disapprove of the job Mr Trump is doing as president. Subtracting the share who disapprove from the share who approve gives us the president’s “net approval”, shown in the chart above.
Most presidents since polling began have started their terms with positive net approval. Both Mr Trump’s terms began with mixed reviews, and he spent almost his entire first term with a negative score. His second may be following a similar trajectory. It took less than two months for his approval rating to fall below zero—before it tumbled in response to his ruinous tariff announcement in April. Protests over immigration appear to have reversed a nascent recovery. He has been steady at around -12 for several weeks.
Net approval by issue
Mr Trump was re-elected on a wave of economic pessimism, telling voters that “incomes will skyrocket, inflation will vanish completely, jobs will come roaring back and the middle class will prosper like never, ever before” during his second term. So far they have been disappointed. Ratings of his handling of the economy and inflation were net positive shortly after his inauguration. They have since fallen to strongly negative in the wake of his declarations of trade war and the ensuing response of investors. YouGov’s data also suggest Americans now disapprove of his handling of immigration, another issue central to his re-election.
Net approval rating by state
Using YouGov’s data, The Economist has projected Mr Trump’s approval rating state by state. As you might expect, approval of Mr Trump is lowest in states that tend to vote for Democrats and highest in those that tend to vote for Republicans. Mr Trump’s voters still overwhelmingly approve of his performance as president. But the projection also shows how dissatisfaction with Mr Trump is widespread even in states that voted for him just a few months ago. The numbers will make for anxious reading for Republicans facing competitive races in next year’s midterm elections.
Trump’s net approval rating by demographic, %
As with other Republican politicians before him, white and male voters are among the most likely to approve of his job performance, while younger voters and members of ethnic minorities are among the most strongly disapproving. People who have the most education—college graduates and postgrads—are least likely to support Mr Trump. Voters of pension age, normally a solidly Republican bloc, are also surprisingly lukewarm on the president.
What is the most important issue facing America?
% responding by party
Some political issues disproportionately concern political partisans. Immigration is a key issue for Mr Trump’s Republican base, as are taxes and government spending. Democrats are more worried about health care and climate change. The chart above shows the most important issues among American adults and members of each party.
Most important issues, 2017-2025
Karl Marx said that men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please. The same is true for presidents. Public opinion in Mr Trump’s first term came to be dominated by concern about health care, especially after the outbreak of covid-19. The economic effects of the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 made inflation a defining issue of Mr Biden’s presidency. The chart above shows which issues have been most important to American adults since 2017, based on weekly survey data from YouGov. ■
REPUBLICANS HAVE passed the first major legislative achievement of Donald Trump’s second term: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. It extends tax cuts enacted during his first term, funded by reductions in government welfare programmes and a substantial increase in deficit spending. Polling by The Economist and YouGov suggests Americans oppose the act by a margin of 18 percentage points. After Mr Trump signed it into law on July 4th public approval of his handling of health care and taxes and government spending tumbled.
Although Mr Trump cannot run for re-election in 2028, he is not impervious to public opinion. His second term will be shaped, and constrained, by the views and priorities of ordinary Americans. On this page The Economist is tracking their opinions week by week, throughout his presidency. Since his inauguration, YouGov has asked respondents whether they approve or disapprove of the job Mr Trump is doing as president. Subtracting the share who disapprove from the share who approve gives us the president’s “net approval”, shown in the chart above.
Most presidents since polling began have started their terms with positive net approval. Both Mr Trump’s terms began with mixed reviews, and he spent almost his entire first term with a negative score. His second may be following a similar trajectory. It took less than two months for his approval rating to fall below zero—before it tumbled in response to his ruinous tariff announcement in April. Protests over immigration appear to have reversed a nascent recovery. He has been steady at around -12 for several weeks.
Net approval by issue
Mr Trump was re-elected on a wave of economic pessimism, telling voters that “incomes will skyrocket, inflation will vanish completely, jobs will come roaring back and the middle class will prosper like never, ever before” during his second term. So far they have been disappointed. Ratings of his handling of the economy and inflation were net positive shortly after his inauguration. They have since fallen to strongly negative in the wake of his declarations of trade war and the ensuing response of investors. YouGov’s data also suggest Americans now disapprove of his handling of immigration, another issue central to his re-election.
Net approval rating by state
Using YouGov’s data, The Economist has projected Mr Trump’s approval rating state by state. As you might expect, approval of Mr Trump is lowest in states that tend to vote for Democrats and highest in those that tend to vote for Republicans. Mr Trump’s voters still overwhelmingly approve of his performance as president. But the projection also shows how dissatisfaction with Mr Trump is widespread even in states that voted for him just a few months ago. The numbers will make for anxious reading for Republicans facing competitive races in next year’s midterm elections.
Trump’s net approval rating by demographic, %
As with other Republican politicians before him, white and male voters are among the most likely to approve of his job performance, while younger voters and members of ethnic minorities are among the most strongly disapproving. People who have the most education—college graduates and postgrads—are least likely to support Mr Trump. Voters of pension age, normally a solidly Republican bloc, are also surprisingly lukewarm on the president.
What is the most important issue facing America?
% responding by party
Some political issues disproportionately concern political partisans. Immigration is a key issue for Mr Trump’s Republican base, as are taxes and government spending. Democrats are more worried about health care and climate change. The chart above shows the most important issues among American adults and members of each party.
Most important issues, 2017-2025
Karl Marx said that men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please. The same is true for presidents. Public opinion in Mr Trump’s first term came to be dominated by concern about health care, especially after the outbreak of covid-19. The economic effects of the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 made inflation a defining issue of Mr Biden’s presidency. The chart above shows which issues have been most important to American adults since 2017, based on weekly survey data from YouGov. ■
REPUBLICANS HAVE passed the first major legislative achievement of Donald Trump’s second term: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. It extends tax cuts enacted during his first term, funded by reductions in government welfare programmes and a substantial increase in deficit spending. Polling by The Economist and YouGov suggests Americans oppose the act by a margin of 18 percentage points. After Mr Trump signed it into law on July 4th public approval of his handling of health care and taxes and government spending tumbled.
Although Mr Trump cannot run for re-election in 2028, he is not impervious to public opinion. His second term will be shaped, and constrained, by the views and priorities of ordinary Americans. On this page The Economist is tracking their opinions week by week, throughout his presidency. Since his inauguration, YouGov has asked respondents whether they approve or disapprove of the job Mr Trump is doing as president. Subtracting the share who disapprove from the share who approve gives us the president’s “net approval”, shown in the chart above.
Most presidents since polling began have started their terms with positive net approval. Both Mr Trump’s terms began with mixed reviews, and he spent almost his entire first term with a negative score. His second may be following a similar trajectory. It took less than two months for his approval rating to fall below zero—before it tumbled in response to his ruinous tariff announcement in April. Protests over immigration appear to have reversed a nascent recovery. He has been steady at around -12 for several weeks.
Net approval by issue
Mr Trump was re-elected on a wave of economic pessimism, telling voters that “incomes will skyrocket, inflation will vanish completely, jobs will come roaring back and the middle class will prosper like never, ever before” during his second term. So far they have been disappointed. Ratings of his handling of the economy and inflation were net positive shortly after his inauguration. They have since fallen to strongly negative in the wake of his declarations of trade war and the ensuing response of investors. YouGov’s data also suggest Americans now disapprove of his handling of immigration, another issue central to his re-election.
Net approval rating by state
Using YouGov’s data, The Economist has projected Mr Trump’s approval rating state by state. As you might expect, approval of Mr Trump is lowest in states that tend to vote for Democrats and highest in those that tend to vote for Republicans. Mr Trump’s voters still overwhelmingly approve of his performance as president. But the projection also shows how dissatisfaction with Mr Trump is widespread even in states that voted for him just a few months ago. The numbers will make for anxious reading for Republicans facing competitive races in next year’s midterm elections.
Trump’s net approval rating by demographic, %
As with other Republican politicians before him, white and male voters are among the most likely to approve of his job performance, while younger voters and members of ethnic minorities are among the most strongly disapproving. People who have the most education—college graduates and postgrads—are least likely to support Mr Trump. Voters of pension age, normally a solidly Republican bloc, are also surprisingly lukewarm on the president.
What is the most important issue facing America?
% responding by party
Some political issues disproportionately concern political partisans. Immigration is a key issue for Mr Trump’s Republican base, as are taxes and government spending. Democrats are more worried about health care and climate change. The chart above shows the most important issues among American adults and members of each party.
Most important issues, 2017-2025
Karl Marx said that men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please. The same is true for presidents. Public opinion in Mr Trump’s first term came to be dominated by concern about health care, especially after the outbreak of covid-19. The economic effects of the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 made inflation a defining issue of Mr Biden’s presidency. The chart above shows which issues have been most important to American adults since 2017, based on weekly survey data from YouGov. ■
REPUBLICANS HAVE passed the first major legislative achievement of Donald Trump’s second term: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. It extends tax cuts enacted during his first term, funded by reductions in government welfare programmes and a substantial increase in deficit spending. Polling by The Economist and YouGov suggests Americans oppose the act by a margin of 18 percentage points. After Mr Trump signed it into law on July 4th public approval of his handling of health care and taxes and government spending tumbled.
Although Mr Trump cannot run for re-election in 2028, he is not impervious to public opinion. His second term will be shaped, and constrained, by the views and priorities of ordinary Americans. On this page The Economist is tracking their opinions week by week, throughout his presidency. Since his inauguration, YouGov has asked respondents whether they approve or disapprove of the job Mr Trump is doing as president. Subtracting the share who disapprove from the share who approve gives us the president’s “net approval”, shown in the chart above.
Most presidents since polling began have started their terms with positive net approval. Both Mr Trump’s terms began with mixed reviews, and he spent almost his entire first term with a negative score. His second may be following a similar trajectory. It took less than two months for his approval rating to fall below zero—before it tumbled in response to his ruinous tariff announcement in April. Protests over immigration appear to have reversed a nascent recovery. He has been steady at around -12 for several weeks.
Net approval by issue
Mr Trump was re-elected on a wave of economic pessimism, telling voters that “incomes will skyrocket, inflation will vanish completely, jobs will come roaring back and the middle class will prosper like never, ever before” during his second term. So far they have been disappointed. Ratings of his handling of the economy and inflation were net positive shortly after his inauguration. They have since fallen to strongly negative in the wake of his declarations of trade war and the ensuing response of investors. YouGov’s data also suggest Americans now disapprove of his handling of immigration, another issue central to his re-election.
Net approval rating by state
Using YouGov’s data, The Economist has projected Mr Trump’s approval rating state by state. As you might expect, approval of Mr Trump is lowest in states that tend to vote for Democrats and highest in those that tend to vote for Republicans. Mr Trump’s voters still overwhelmingly approve of his performance as president. But the projection also shows how dissatisfaction with Mr Trump is widespread even in states that voted for him just a few months ago. The numbers will make for anxious reading for Republicans facing competitive races in next year’s midterm elections.
Trump’s net approval rating by demographic, %
As with other Republican politicians before him, white and male voters are among the most likely to approve of his job performance, while younger voters and members of ethnic minorities are among the most strongly disapproving. People who have the most education—college graduates and postgrads—are least likely to support Mr Trump. Voters of pension age, normally a solidly Republican bloc, are also surprisingly lukewarm on the president.
What is the most important issue facing America?
% responding by party
Some political issues disproportionately concern political partisans. Immigration is a key issue for Mr Trump’s Republican base, as are taxes and government spending. Democrats are more worried about health care and climate change. The chart above shows the most important issues among American adults and members of each party.
Most important issues, 2017-2025
Karl Marx said that men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please. The same is true for presidents. Public opinion in Mr Trump’s first term came to be dominated by concern about health care, especially after the outbreak of covid-19. The economic effects of the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 made inflation a defining issue of Mr Biden’s presidency. The chart above shows which issues have been most important to American adults since 2017, based on weekly survey data from YouGov. ■
