President Donald Trump’s approval rating hit record lows in two separate polls on Wednesday, Oct. 21, with one-third of Americans approving of his job performance only weeks before a pivotal midterm for him and the Republican Party.
The two new polls, one by the New York Times/Siena University and the other by CNN/SSRS, showed the president reaching new record lows. Trump’s approval rating was 34%, the lowest seen in New York Times/Siena University tracking.
Meanwhile, in the CNN/SSRS poll, Trump’s approval rating fell to a record low of 32%, down one percentage point from his previous low in late September.
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during an election rally at Pitt-Greenville Airport on October 20, 2026 in Greenville, North Carolina.
According to the New York Times, Trump’s current approval rating is the lowest for any president heading into a midterm election since Harry Truman in 1946, when the Democratic president sat at 33%.
Trump’s polling woes come as Democrats have continued to rise in national polling. According to the Times, Democrats hold an 11-percentage-point advantage over the GOP in a generic congressional ballot, while CNN’s poll shows Democrats holding a 10-point lead.
Democrats’ lead in CNN’s poll is the largest they have held over the GOP in a generic congressional ballot since just before the 2020 election.
“President Trump is the unequivocal leader, best messenger, and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party, and he is committed to maintaining Republican majorities in Congress,” said White House spokesperson Davis Ingle in response to a request from USA TODAY for comment. “The choice has never been more clear: doubling down on President Trump’s winning, commonsense agenda or the Democrats’ extreme liberal policies and obstruction.”
An unhappy electorate
Hand-in-hand with Trump’s struggling approval rating, Americans have expressed a deep disapproval of the direction of the economy under his administration.
According to the latest New York Times/Siena University poll, a majority of voters (69%) disapprove of the president’s handling of the cost of living; meanwhile, 65% say they disapprove of Trump’s handling of the Iran war.
With the average gas price in the United States is still sitting above $4 a gallon, nearly three-thirds of respondents said they disapproved of Trump’s handling of the issue, according to the NYT poll.
More: Trump approval rating falls to career low in new poll
Among registered voters who say the economy is their top concern, Democrats lead the GOP by nine percentage points, according to CNN’s poll, which also found that a majority of the electorate believe Democrats are better able to manage the economy and cost of living.
The same CNN/SSRS poll also found that 41% of respondents think the country would be better off if Democrats won control of Congress, while 37% said the country would actually be worse off.
A bad start to the week
Beyond the drops in both New York Times/Siena University and CNN/SSRS polling, Trump also hit new record lows in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Monday.
In that survey, Trump’s approval rating sat at 31%, the lowest the president has seen in Reuters/Ipsos tracking in either term, and a one-point drop from his previous career low recorded two weeks ago.
That same poll found Democrats leading the Republican Party by 12 percentage points in a generic congressional ballot, the widest lead the party has held in Reuters/Ipsos tracking this election cycle.
What do polling averages show?
While individual polls vary, major polling averages continue to show Trump deeply underwater, with disapproval ratings approaching or exceeding 60% nationally.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump approval rating hits record lows in 2 separate polls
