Trump’s Approval Remains Stuck at Historic Lows as Americans Sour on his Handling of Inflation and Cost of Living

President Donald Trump's approval rating held at 32% after Republicans lost both chambers of Congress in the November 3 midterm elections, the latest edition of the Reuters/Ipsos poll found. The result leaves Trump one percentage point above his lowest rating in the polling series as fewer than one in five Americans approve of how he is handling inflation.

The survey, conducted November 6-9, found that 65% of U.S. adults disapproved of Trump's performance, including 50% who disapproved strongly. His approval rating matched the results of two polls taken in late October and early November. The one-point difference from his mid-October low of 31% falls within the latest survey's margin of sampling error.

The poll found a gap between how Americans rated Trump's handling of the economy and how they judged their own household costs. A quarter approved of his handling of the U.S. economy, compared with 21% who approved of his handling of their cost of living and 19% who approved of his response to inflation and rising prices. On the cost of living, 72% disapproved, including 54% who did so strongly.

While 77% of Republicans approved of his overall job performance, 50% approved of how he was handling their cost of living and 46% approved of his handling of inflation. Among respondents Ipsos grouped as independents or other, 23% approved of his overall performance and 14% gave him a positive rating on their cost of living.

The findings come as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress in January. They secured their biggest House victory since at least 2008 and picked up Senate seats in Kansas, South Carolina and Texas. The survey began three days after Election Day and measured opinion among U.S. adults nationwide.

Fuel prices rose sharply after the United States and Israel launched the war with Iran in February, adding to the strain on household budgets. In the same survey, 26% approved of Trump's handling of Iran, while 71% said they supported Congress passing legislation to end the conflict. That included 51% of Republicans. Separately, 62% of adults said they would support repealing the Trump administration's import tariffs.

Immigration drew Trump's highest approval rating among the issues tested, at 38%. It was also among his strongest issues with Republicans, 81% of whom approved of his approach. Across the full sample, however, 55% disapproved of his handling of immigration.

The administration has expanded deportations since Trump returned to office in January 2025. Last week, he promoted Stephen Miller, one of the architects of that policy, to White House chief of staff.

The November result extends a stretch of flat approval that began before the election. The Reuters/Ipsos survey completed November 2, one day before voting ended, also put Trump at 32%.

In that poll, 52% of likely voters said they backed or leaned toward the Democratic candidate for Congress in their district, compared with 44% who backed or leaned toward the Republican. The approval question was asked of adults, a broader group than the likely voters surveyed about the congressional ballot.

Ipsos conducted the post-election survey online in English with a nationally representative probability sample of 1,705 U.S. adults. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 2.4 percentage points for the full sample and 4.6 points for Republicans. Ipsos weighted the results using factors including age, education, household income, party identification, and respondents' votes in the 2024 presidential election.