Donald Trump Faces Record-Low Approval Ahead of Midterms

President Donald Trump is facing record-low approval ratings and declining support among Republicans as the 2026 midterm elections approach. A poll by the Associated Press and NORC shows a 31% approval rating, while a Quinnipiac survey places him at 34% overall and 25% among independents. Voters cite the cost of living, tariffs, and the war with Iran as primary drivers of dissatisfaction.

Despite these numbers, the Republican National Committee has placed Trump at the center of its midterm strategy. Trump has launched a 32-day campaign blitz across Republican-leaning states and a series of taxpayer-funded television advertisements targeting Marxists and globalists. Critics and legal analysts describe these ads as illegal partisan propaganda, though an administration official told Axios that the government welcomes the resulting media criticism for the free amplification it provides.

Trump has dismissed the polling data as fake, though he admitted he has done a very bad job of explaining the country's performance. In a TIME interview, he refused to rule out invoking the Insurrection Act to deploy the military during the elections. Meanwhile, early voting data indicates stronger Democratic participation in key states including Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Maine, and Iowa, threatening Republican control of the House of Representatives.