Trump’s GOP Support Is Slipping As His Approval Among Republicans Hits a Second-Term Low

President Donald Trump is seeing weakened support among Republican voters as concerns over high prices, the war in Iran and corruption weigh on his standing less than three months before the midterm elections.

An Economist/YouGov poll released found Trump's approval rating among Republicans has fallen to 79%, the lowest level of his second term and 12 percentage points below where it stood shortly after he returned to the White House.

The decline is even sharper in the category concerning Republicans who strongly back the president. The share who said they "strongly approve" of Trump's job performance has dropped from 68% to 48%, a 20-point slide that could become significant for Republicans heading into November.

Trump's difficulties are particularly pronounced among Republicans who do not identify with the MAGA movement, a group that accounts for roughly 30% of GOP voters. Just 51% of non-MAGA Republicans approved of Trump's performance in the Economist/YouGov survey, compared with 47% who disapproved.

His approval among that group fell 13 percentage points in just one week. The findings are not isolated. A Financial Times poll released over the weekend showed Trump's net approval rating among Republicans had declined eight points in a month.

Republican consumers are also becoming markedly more pessimistic. The University of Michigan's August survey showed that consumer sentiment among Republicans fell 9.5 points from July, more than twice the decline in the overall index and among the largest drops for GOP respondents in the survey's history.

Recent polling has also indicated growing concern within the GOP over Trump's handling of the conflict and whether he is using the presidency for personal financial benefit. Any erosion among Republicans could be especially consequential because Trump's political strength has historically depended on exceptionally high levels of support within his own party. During his first term, his approval rating among Republicans averaged 88%, according to Gallup.

The latest numbers come at a difficult moment for the GOP. The party faces the historical challenge that has confronted nearly every president's party during midterm elections, when voters often use congressional races to register dissatisfaction with the White House.

Democrats are already considered competitive for control of the House, while additional Republican losses could also increase pressure on the party's Senate majority. Losing either chamber would dramatically change the final two years of Trump's presidency, giving Democrats greater power to investigate his administration and potentially blocking much of his legislative agenda.

Republicans have sought to limit potential House losses through redistricting, but enthusiasm seems to be waning. A Washington Post-Ipsos poll conducted in July found Democrats held a 10-point advantage over Republicans among voters who said they were certain to vote in the midterms.

Nathan Nascimento, executive director of the conservative group AFP Action, told the Washington Post that as many as one in five core Republican voters could be at risk of staying home in November. "This is a scary number," Nascimento said. The White House did not respond to Axios' request for comment on the recent polling.