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Trump’s approval rating falls to career low in new poll

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Lange, J. (2026, September 21). Trump’s approval rating falls to career low in new poll. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-approval-rating-career-low-new-poll-b3053840.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-09-21 · by Jason Lange

Quick Summary

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows President Donald Trump’s approval rating has dropped to a career low of 32%, with only 17% approving of his management of living costs. This decline is attributed to growing discontent among Republicans over economic conditions, exacerbated by the military intervention in Iran which led to increased fuel prices. The poll also indicates that Democrats have a 43%-to-35% edge over Republicans in voter preferences for the upcoming midterm elections, potentially impacting Trump's legislative agenda in his final two years of office.
Written by AI on 2026-09-21, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

President Donald Trump's approval rating fell to 32% — its lowest point in his political career — according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from September 17-20, 2025. This decline was driven by Republican dissatisfaction with his handling of the cost of living, particularly since he launched an unpopular war on Iran in February that has significantly increased gasoline and diesel prices. Only 17% of respondents approved of Trump's management of living costs, a critical issue leading up to the November 3 midterm elections where Republicans are defending narrow majorities in Congress. The poll also showed a decrease in Republican approval from 82% to 73% over just one week.

Written for “Trump Approval Rating Falls Low” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Approval Rating Falls Low
Politics · 6 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 10 claims Outlet record 60/100
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 11 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 11 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 26 claims Outlet record 66/100
NBC News
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 45 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A reports on a specific poll's findings about Trump's approval rating, while Article B discusses broader challenges facing Republicans based on various polls and analyses.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 26 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles discuss related topics about President Trump's declining approval and Republican disapproval but describe different aspects of a broader political situation rather than the same specific incident.”
The Independent
Hedges 4 of 19 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles report on different polling periods and have varying approval/disapproval ratings, indicating they describe distinct surveys or poll results.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 13 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles cover different aspects of public opinion and approval ratings related to the war on Iran, but they do not describe the same specific incident or survey.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 3 of 18 claims Outlet record 69/100
“While both articles discuss Trump's low approval ratings and their impact, they describe different aspects of the situation with distinct sources and dates.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 39 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles discuss related themes but describe different aspects of the political situation: one focuses on private conversations and internal realizations by Trump, while the other reports on a new poll about his approval ratings.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
6
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-21 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 3531 article(s) · 8 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 8 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Jason Lange
4 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 "I may move the Fake News to a less obnoxious location," Trump wrote in his post.
🔮 Ceding control of either chamber of Congress could make it far more difficult for Trump to execute his agenda in the final two years of his term.
🔮 About 76% of adults view measles, mumps, and rubella immunizations as safe for children, down from 84% in May 2020.
🔮 Trump, who campaigned on promises to keep inflation in check and avoid long-lasting wars, initially pledged the conflict with Iran would take a few weeks.
Also by Jason Lange
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Congress Iran Republican Republicans Reuters/Ipsos

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 8× Republicans NORP · 6× Iran GPE · 4× Congress ORG · 3× Reuters ORG · 3× Reuters/Ipsos ORG · 3× Americans NORP · 2× Democrats NORP · 2× Republican NORP · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 1×

Narrative

These findings on legislative voting intentions provide an overarching picture of which political party Americans prefer to see leading Congress, though the figures do not reflect all the local dynamics across individual state and district races that dictate control of the Senate and House of Representatives.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-21
🔮 Ceding control of either chamber of Congress could make it far more difficult for Trump to execute his agenda in the final two years of his term.
2026-09-21 · The Independent
Trump’s approval rating falls to career low in new poll · assertive framing

Claims (22 extracted, 1 hedged)

Public support for President Donald Trump has fallen to 32 percent—the lowest mark of his political career—as members of his own Republican party express growing discontent with his handling of the cost of living amid the unpopular military intervention in Iran, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll has revealed. asserted
poll → fall → Iran
The four-day survey, which concluded on Sunday, found that 73 percent of Republicans approved of Trump's overall performance in office. asserted
percent → conclude → office
This represents a drop from the 82 percent rating recorded in a Reuters/Ipsos poll the previous week, when his overall approval stood at 35 percent. asserted
approval → represent → percent
Trump re-entered the White House in January 2025 after campaigning on pledges to lower inflation and bring foreign wars to an end. asserted
- → re → end
In a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted immediately following his swearing-in ceremony, his approval rating was recorded at 47 percent. asserted
rating → conduct → percent
A mere 17 percent of respondents in the latest poll voiced approval for his handling of the cost of living. asserted
percent → voice → living
The issue remains the primary driver for voters heading into the November 3 midterm elections, in which Trump's fellow Republicans must defend narrow majorities across both houses of Congress. asserted
Republicans → remain → Congress
IRAN TAKES A TOLL Frustration among Republicans concerning economic conditions has mounted since Trump launched the war against Iran in February, an action that led to sharp increases in gasoline and diesel prices. asserted
that → take → prices
For the first time, Republicans who disapprove of his management of the cost of living outnumber those who approve, by 51 percent to 44 percent. asserted
who → disapprove → percent
This approval rating is lower than any figure recorded for his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, whose presidency was likewise impacted by elevated inflation and who ultimately ended his campaign for reelection after a difficult debate performance highlighted concerns over his age. asserted
performance → record → age
The Reuters/Ipsos survey showed that registered voters favored Democrats over Republicans by 43 percent to 35 percent when asked about their voting intentions for the midterms. asserted
voters → show → midterms
The eight-point lead marks the widest margin for Democrats in Reuters/Ipsos polling so far this year. asserted
lead → mark → polling
Ceding control of either chamber of Congress could make it far more difficult for Trump to execute his agenda in the final two years of his term. uncertain
Trump → cede → term
These findings on legislative voting intentions provide an overarching picture of which political party Americans prefer to see leading Congress, though the figures do not reflect all the local dynamics across individual state and district races that dictate control of the Senate and House of Representatives. asserted
that → provide → Representatives
Immigration remains a strong area for Trump among his base, with 79 percent of Republicans endorsing his actions. asserted
percent → remain → actions
However, just 36 percent of Americans overall support his approach to the issue, compared to 55 percent who disapprove. asserted
who → support → percent
Some Republican lawmakers have warned that aggressive deportation efforts risk distancing voters with family ties to recent immigrants, including Hispanic voters. asserted
efforts → warn → voters
Only 24 percent of the general public supports his handling of the conflict involving Iran. asserted
percent → support → Iran
The online Reuters/Ipsos poll gathered responses from 1,277 adults across the United States and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points. asserted
poll → gather → points
Trump’s approval rating was even lower in another poll conducted by American Research Group from Sept. 16-20 among 1,100 American adults. asserted
rating → conduct → adults
That survey showed the president with a 29% overall approval rating. asserted
survey → show → rating
"This poll is an outlier, as others are not as bleak for the president, but overall it's pretty clear that Trump's numbers are worse now than they were eight years ago," Kyle Kondik with the University of Virginia's Center for Politics told Newsweek. asserted
Kondik → tell → Newsweek
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