Trump approval rating falls to second-term low of 37%

Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to one of its lowest points, with only 37% of Americans expressing approval of his performance as president.

The new CNN/SSRS survey released on Monday shows a sharp decline in Trump’s approval ratings compared with the early days after he began his second term in January, when his approval stood at 47% by mid-February.

The latest survey, conducted among 1,245 adults from 27 to 30 October, shows a 63% disapproval rating, just a percentage point higher than his lowest mark ever recorded by CNN, which came in the week following the January 6 Capitol Hill riot in 2021.

When asked how things are going in the US, today, a majority of Americans, 68%, said “pretty/very badly”, while 32% said “very/fairly well”.

The survey, conducted as the federal government appears to enter what will be the longest shutdown in American history, also found that 47% of Americans view the economy and cost of living as the most important issue facing the country.

Coming in second is the state of American democracy, indicated by 26% of Americans. By comparison, only 10% cited immigration as a top concern, even though the issue continues to be a major focus of Trump’s administration, marked by intensified ICE raids, steep cuts to refugee admissions and ongoing immigration battles in federal courts.

Other issues lower on the list include crime and safety, cited as a concern by only 7% of Americans, despite Trump’s vow to rid major American cities – which he has called “hellhole” and “war-ravaged” – of “crime, bloodshed, bedlam”.

Among those surveyed, only 27% said they believe Trump’s policies improved the nation’s economic conditions. In contrast, 61% think his policies made the economy worse while 12% believe they had no effect. The survey comes amid growing concern in rural Republican towns where Trump’s tariffs have driven factory layoffs and production slowdowns across various industries.

In regards to foreign policy, 32% said they believe Trump’s decisions helped the US’s global standing. By contrast, 56% believe that he hurt the US’s standing in the world while 12% said he made no difference at all. These results follow repeated White House claims that Trump has ended eight wars in eight months of his presidency.

Moreover, the survey found that a majority of Americans, 61%, believe Trump has gone too far in using his presidential powers. Meanwhile, 31% say his use of power has been about right, and 9% believe he has not gone far enough.

Since taking office in January, Trump’s expansion of his presidential authority – through actions including authorizing international strikes without congressional approval, deploying national guard troops despite opposition from state officials, and issuing executive orders that make independent regulators answerable to the White House – has raised widespread concern.

The survey’s findings on public attitudes toward Trump’s presidential power also come as experts warn that his investigations into political opponents risk turning the justice department into his “personal weapon”.

With the midterm elections coming up next November, 41% of Americans said that if they were voting for Congress today, their vote would be a way to show opposition to Trump. Meanwhile, 21% said their vote would signal support for Trump and 38% said their vote would not be about sending any message to him.

The Guardian has contacted the White House for comment.