The latest survey adds to signs of weak national sentiment around President Donald Trump as the 2026 midterm campaign takes shape. Its findings also show why one poll is a useful snapshot, not a prediction of an election result.
Donald Trump’s approval rating reached a new record low in the latest Economist/YouGov poll, released Aug. 11, 2026. The survey found that 33% of Americans approve of his job performance, a drop of 3 percentage points from the previous week and Trump’s lowest rating in YouGov tracking since he returned to office in 2025.
The result matters because presidential approval can shape the political climate heading into midterm elections, even if it cannot by itself forecast who will win. The poll also points to broader concerns about trust, the direction of the country and Trump’s use of presidential power.
What the 33% finding measures
The Economist/YouGov survey asked Americans whether they approve or disapprove of Trump’s performance as president. Its 33% approval figure means roughly one in three respondents expressed approval at the time they were surveyed.
That is a measure of national opinion, not a vote count and not a measure limited to likely voters in a specific congressional district. Approval polling is designed to capture a broad view of a president’s standing, which can move with news events, economic perceptions, policy fights and partisan reactions.
The poll was conducted Aug. 7 through Aug. 10 among 1,589 U.S. adults. It reported a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points, an important qualifier when comparing a one-week change.
Still, USA Today reported that the 33% mark was Trump’s lowest in YouGov’s tracking since his 2025 return to the White House. The three-point decline from the prior week puts the result at the edge of the survey’s stated margin of error, meaning it is best read alongside the wider trend rather than as proof of a precisely measured sudden shift.
Other measures show negative territory
Polling averages also placed Trump underwater nationally on Aug. 11, though the exact figures differed by methodology and the polls included.
- RealClearPolitics: 39.2% approve and 58.6% disapprove.
- The New York Times polling average: 37% approve and 59% disapprove.
- Silver Bulletin: 38.1% approve and 58.5% disapprove.
Those averages should not be treated as interchangeable with the Economist/YouGov survey. Each average uses its own selection rules, timing and weighting of polls. But they provide context for a central point: the 33% approval number did not emerge in isolation from other national measures showing more disapproval than approval.
The gap between a single poll and an average is also a reminder that public opinion data contain uncertainty. Different organizations reach different people, ask questions in different ways and make different decisions about how to weight respondents. A credible reading pays attention to both the individual survey and the broader range.
Trust and direction concerns stand out
The Economist/YouGov poll included measures beyond basic job approval. Sixty percent of respondents said Trump was not honest and trustworthy, according to the survey.
It also found that 65% said the country was headed in the wrong direction, up 2 percentage points from an Economist/YouGov poll conducted in late July. That measure does not assign responsibility solely to the president; people can cite economic conditions, Congress, global events or a general dissatisfaction with national politics. But presidents often absorb much of the public reaction to the country’s direction.
Age remained another area of concern in the survey. Fifty-three percent of respondents said the 80-year-old president was too old to be in the White House.
On questions about power and conduct, 61% said they believed Trump was using the presidency for personal gain, while 55% said they believed he was using the Justice Department to pursue political enemies. Those are perceptions reported by respondents, not findings of fact by the pollster or a legal judgment.
The midterm signal has limits
The survey found Democrats with an 8-point advantage over Republicans on a generic congressional ballot, a question that asks voters which party they would prefer to control Congress. Other recent surveys cited by USA Today also gave Democrats an edge: Marquette Law School showed a 6-point Democratic advantage, while Reuters/Ipsos found a 5-point advantage.
That creates a potentially difficult political backdrop for Republicans as November’s midterms approach. Historically, the party holding the White House often faces losses in midterm elections, and low presidential approval can add pressure to that pattern.
But a generic ballot is not an election-night forecast. Congressional contests are decided district by district, with candidate quality, local issues, turnout, redistricting, fundraising and state-level races all affecting the final map. National sentiment can influence those races without determining each one.
Trump has publicly pushed back on the idea that his standing is driving Republican frustration. In an interview with Punchbowl News last week, he said the Republican base was angry with congressional party leadership rather than with him, and he pointed to his 2024 electoral performance in several states.
Why a single poll is not destiny
Approval ratings are a useful gauge of political mood because they are measured repeatedly over time. Their biggest value is often the direction of travel: whether support is stable, rising or falling across multiple polls.
The latest Economist/YouGov result gives Democrats an encouraging data point and gives Republicans a warning sign. It does not settle whether the president’s standing will hold, whether voters will prioritize it in November or whether either party can turn national discontent into district-level wins.
What is clear is that Trump’s 33% approval rating arrives amid negative assessments on several related questions. For the White House and congressional Republicans, the next tests will be whether those views change as voters react to policy decisions, economic conditions and the campaigns ahead.
For readers tracking the midterms, the more meaningful evidence will be whether the low approval level persists across polls and whether the generic-ballot advantage remains visible as individual races become clearer.
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