Trump’s Approval Ratings Plunge as Americans Weigh Chaos Against ChangeFor weeks, rumors had been swirling across Washington: the latest round of presidential approval ratings would not be kind to Donald J. Trump. Pundits whispered that the numbers could be catastrophic, even historic. Now the data is public, and it has confirmed what many had suspected — while also reigniting the debate over whether Trump is a uniquely embattled president or simply the most polarizing one in modern American history.
The numbers reveal a leader under pressure, a presidency defined by perpetual confrontation, and a country deeply divided nine months into Trump’s second term.
Trump returned to the White House the same way he left it: swinging.
Executive orders stacked high on his desk, cabinet reshuffles that blindsided even loyal allies, sudden reversals on trade, sweeping immigration crackdowns, and nonstop battles with the media, universities, and the legal establishment.
To his supporters, this is Trump unchained — the embodiment of “America First” in its rawest form. To his critics, it is déjà vu: a presidency running on chaos, fueled by grievance, and exhausting to watch.
Asked earlier this month whether he would consider “toning it down” in response to growing fatigue, Trump dismissed the idea outright.
“You don’t fix a broken country by whispering,” he said. “You do it by shouting truth louder than the lies.”
It was classic Trump — brash, unapologetic, and impossible to ignore. But while the president relishes the fight, his advisers have been watching something far more sobering than rallies and applause lines: the polls.
The latest YouGov national survey paints a troubling picture for the White House. Trump’s approval rating has slipped to 41 percent, with 52 percent disapproving
— his lowest point since returning to office.
Just nine months ago, Trump rode a brief wave of optimism following his second inauguration. Early moves on the economy had pushed him above 50 percent approval, even among some skeptics. That goodwill has now evaporated.
Trade fights, tariff hikes, and near-daily confrontations with the press have dragged him down. Even within his own party, cracks are showing. While 82 percent of Republicans still back Trump, that number is five points lower than his peak during his first term. Among independents, the numbers are brutal:
“These are the kinds of numbers that define a presidency,” said Peter Hartwell, a veteran political analyst. “If independents abandon you and your base starts to soften, you’re in serious trouble.”
The regional breakdown of the polling is even more alarming for Republicans.
Ohio: approval has fallen from 57% to 48%.
Iowa: down from 55% to 46%.
Florida: for the first time since 2019, Trump’s approval has dipped below 50%.
The erosion is sharpest in the suburbs — the same battlegrounds that handed Trump his comeback victory in 2024.
“The pattern is unmistakable,” Hartwell noted. “Voters who once held their noses and backed Trump because they trusted him on the economy are now questioning whether the constant confrontation is worth it.”
The president himself remains undeterred. In a recent Fox News interview, Trump waved off the numbers as “garbage from bad pollsters.” He even turned his fire on Fox, accusing Rupert Murdoch of hiring the “worst pollsters” in the industry.
Later, on Truth Social, he doubled down: “The fake news loves their fake polls. But the people know the truth — the country is winning again, and they feel it.”
It is a familiar strategy. Throughout his career, Trump has cast polls not as a reflection of public sentiment but as another weapon wielded by enemies determined to bring him down.
“They’ve been wrong about me every single time,” he told a rally crowd in Pennsylvania. “Why should I believe them now?”
For all Trump’s bluster, approval ratings have concrete consequences. They shape congressional momentum, sway financial markets, and influence global diplomacy.
“When a president’s approval dips below 45 percent, members of his own party begin to calculate differently,” said historian Elaine Berns, who has tracked presidential popularity for decades. “They stop taking political risks for him. That’s especially dangerous heading into midterms.”
History bears her out: the president’s party has historically lost an average of 28 House seats when approval ratings fall below that threshold. For Republicans, the possibility of a Democratic wave in the upcoming midterms looms large.
The YouGov survey highlights a broad spectrum of discontent:
Republicans: 35% express frustration over tariffs, which some blame for slowing markets and driving up consumer costs.
Democrats and Independents: 62% believe Trump “stokes division,” 55% say he “undermines the rule of law,” and 49% say they no longer trust his economic claims.
Even on core issues once central to his brand — immigration, crime, and trade — support has softened. In 2024, nearly 60 percent of Americans said Trump’s immigration stance was “about right.” Today, fewer than half agree.
“What voters expected was order,” said pollster James Robshaw. “What they’re seeing is unending confrontation.”
Trump’s strongest base remains older, white, non-college-educated men — the demographic that powered his return to the White House.
But the numbers are stark elsewhere:
Under-30 voters: 72% disapprove.
Black voters: 81% disapprove.
Latino voters: 63% disapprove.
Inroads Trump made with Hispanic men in Texas and Florida in 2024 are eroding, according to the data.
“The message of jobs, security, and strength is being drowned out by chaos,” said Democratic strategist Maria Gonzalez.
Yet Democrats face their own problem. No potential challenger currently commands significantly better approval ratings. Vice President Kamala Harris sits at 39 percent favorability, while California Governor Gavin Newsom is at 37.
The dissatisfaction cuts both ways: America may be weary of Trump, but it hasn’t embraced an alternative.
At rallies in battleground states, Trump projects defiance.
“They can print all the fake polls they want,” he told a cheering crowd in Pittsburgh. “But here’s what’s real: gas is cheaper, crime is down, the border is tighter, and factories are coming back. You see it with your own eyes.”
Mocking YouGov directly, he added: “I call them You’re Wrong.”
The crowd roared — a reminder that, whatever the national numbers say, Trump’s core base remains fiercely loyal. Rasmussen reports that 89% of self-identified MAGA voters would “definitely” vote for him again — a level of loyalty most politicians could only dream of.
Trump’s presidency has never been about data points or traditional political benchmarks. His movement runs on emotion — distrust of institutions, anger at elites, and the belief that he alone fights for “forgotten Americans.”
That is why, even with approval ratings hovering below 45 percent, Trump still fills stadiums. To his followers, he is more than a politician. He is a symbol of defiance.
“Polls capture opinion, not conviction,” Berns observed. “And Trump’s movement is built on conviction.”
Still, the political risks are undeniable. Republican lawmakers are nervously eyeing the midterms, while Democrats are sharpening their attacks. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer summed up their strategy bluntly on X:
“Donald Trump’s approval ratings are falling for one simple reason — Americans are waking up to the damage his chaos is doing to the country.”
For Trump, the challenge now is not simply to dismiss the polls but to prove, once again, that he can defy them. His career has been defined by doing exactly that: winning when experts said he couldn’t, surviving when critics declared him finished, and returning to power when history suggested it was impossible.
As he told reporters before boarding Air Force One this week:
“The fake news says the numbers are down. I say America’s going up. We’re winning — and the best is yet to come.”
Whether the country agrees will be tested not in the polls, but at the ballot box.
A federal judge overseeing the Justice Department’s push to unseal grand jury records from Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal case has requested more information before issuing a decision. In a four-page order filed Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer stated he intends to rule “expeditiously” but noted the DOJ’s initial motion lacks sufficient detail to address the legal standards required for disclosing secret grand jury material, ABC News reported.
Engelmayer directed the DOJ to submit a supplemental brief by July 29 that explains in greater depth its justification for seeking the release of the records. The brief must also clarify whether prosecutors have already reviewed the transcripts and if victims were notified prior to the filing. Additionally, the DOJ must file — under seal — an index of all relevant grand jury materials, the full transcripts, a redacted version proposed for public release, and any other pertinent documents.
Defense attorneys for Maxwell also responded on Tuesday, requesting access to the grand jury transcripts before formally stating their position. “We have not seen them, and our understanding is that they have never been provided to the defense in their entirety,” wrote defense lawyer David Oscar Markus. He emphasized that reviewing the transcripts is necessary for Maxwell’s legal team to offer a meaningful response. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche reportedly does not oppose allowing the defense access to these materials.
Separately, the judge set an August 5 deadline for victims in the case to submit their views on whether the grand jury records should be made public. The case has gained renewed attention after President Donald Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to release additional Epstein-related files, citing transparency concerns. Bondi confirmed that Blanche will soon meet with Maxwell and stated that the DOJ is prepared to hear any credible evidence she may provide involving crimes against victims.
The move has sparked political backlash, particularly from Democrats who view it as a politicization of the justice system. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) accused Blanche of acting as a “political agent” for Trump and potentially offering Maxwell leniency in exchange for politically useful information. Meanwhile, former Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz told Fox News that while no official “client list” exists, some redacted names in FBI reports may implicate prominent figures. He mentioned George Mitchell, Bill Richardson, and Ehud Barak as individuals named in victim interviews but stressed that accusations alone do not equate to guilt.