Trump Disapproval Hits Record High in New Poll: 56% Say President Has Done Worse than Expected

President Donald Trump faces new low ratings in a national poll of voters, with many saying he is doing a worse-than-expected job in his presidency. The latest poll comes as the midterm elections near and could see the Democratic Party gain seats in Congress. • State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust stock is trading near recent highs. What should traders watch with SPY?

New Trump Poll A new Emerson College poll shows Trump with an approval rating of 39% and disapproval rating of 58%, with both marks worse for Trump than in the August poll, where his approval was 40% and disapproval was 56%. In fact, this marks the highest disapproval for Trump in the Emerson College poll for his second presidential term and ties for his worst approval rating in the same poll. In the poll, voters were asked if they thought Trump has done better than expected, worse than expected or as expected for his second term. Only 26% of voters said Trump has done better than expected.

The majority of voters (56%) said Trump has done worse than expected, with 18% saying he’s done about as expected. For Democrats, the results were 8% better than expected, 9% about as expected, and 82% worse than expected. For Republicans, a narrow majority of 51% said Trump has done better than expected, 29% about as expected, and 20% said worse than expected. Among Independent voters, 20% said Trump has done better than expected, 15% about as expected and 66% said he’s done worse than expected.

Read Also: Trump Approval Rating Falls Lower, Stock Market Gains Can’t Offset Voter Opinion About Iran War Economy Gets Worse The State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY ), which tracks the S&P 500, may be up more than 12% year-to-date in 2026, but many voters think the economy is getting worse. This could be a signal of a K-shaped economy, where those with high income and exposure to stocks are doing well, and those who are low income and may not own stocks are doing worse. In the poll, 60% of voters said Trump’s economic policies are making the economy worse. Twenty-eight percent said Trump is making the economy better.

Several months ago, the amount of voters who thought Trump’s policies were making the economy worse was under the 50% threshold at 49%. That figure has soared in recent months. The economy remained the top concern for voters in the poll at 41%, with threats to democracy and immigration ranking second and third at 17% and 13%, respectively. 2026 Midterm Elections With the midterm election only six weeks away, voters were asked about voting in the upcoming election.

The majority at 71% said they are very excited to vote in the 2026 midterm elections, with 20% saying they were somewhat excited, 7% said not too excited and 3% said not at all excited. Among political groups, the Republican voters were the least likely to select very excited with 66% selecting that option, compared to 78% of Democrats and 70% of Independents. The poll found congressional Democrats having an 11-point lead of 53% to 42% for the generic 2026 midterm elections, tied for the highest support for the Democrats and for the highest point lead.

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