President Donald Trump has long been a controversial figure, even before he descended that golden elevator and announced his presidential campaign in 2015, but new polling data is showing the 45th and 47th president’s approval rating at a new low for his second term, including on issues he campaigned on heavily in 2024.

According to an AP-NORC survey released this month, only 40% of voters approve of Trump’s job performance as president (split evenly between 20% who somewhat approve and 20% who strongly approve), while 59% disapprove (including nearly 50% who strongly disapprove). Somewhat surprisingly, the area where the president is the least “underwater” is Venezuela: 41% of voters approve of the use of the U.S. military to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, while 57% disapprove, already better metrics than the president’s overall job approval rating.

On many of Trump’s signature issues, however, voters have evidently been disappointed. Only 38% approve of the president’s handling of immigration issues (compared to 61% who disapprove), 37% of the president’s handling of the economy (62% disapprove), and 37% of the president’s handling of foreign policy (61% disapprove). Republicans were the most likely voter demographic to give the president high marks, while less than one (31%) of Independent voters approved of Trump’s management of immigration and foreign policy, and only 29% approved of his management of the economy.

The economy has been a particular sore point for voters, with nearly two-thirds (64%) reporting in a CNN-SSRS poll that they don’t believe that the Trump administration has done enough to lower prices and increase affordability. Nearly as many (58%) predicted that the U.S. economy will be in “poor” shape this time next year. The January Harvard CAPS-Harris poll found similar results: 53% of polled voters consider the U.S. economy currently “weak,” while a plurality (42%) said that their personal financial situation is “getting worse.” Only about one third (34%) of voters said that their personal financial situation was improving, and about a quarter (24%) said that their personal financial situation was more or less unchanged.

Economic concerns were also top-of-mind for voters: 36% named price increases, inflation, and affordability as their chief concern, and 29% named the economy and jobs. Other issues rated important by voters included health care (29%) and immigration (26%). When asked what issue was most important to voters personally, 47% named inflation and affordability. The next closest issues were “restoring basic American values of merit and competence” (13%) and immigration (11%).

The president is not unaware of voters’ concerns over affordability. In a year-end address to the nation last month, he touted his administration’s economic achievements over the course of 2025 and pledged that even more would be coming in 2026. “We’re bringing our economy back from the brink of ruin,” Trump boasted. “Let’s look at the facts. Under the Biden administration, car prices rose 22% and, in many states, 30% or more. Gasoline rose 30% to 50%. Hotel rates rose 37%. Airfares rose 31%. Now, under our leadership, they are all coming down and coming down fast,” he added. Since winning the 2024 election, the president has warned that inflation skyrocketed under the previous administration and will take time to tame, particularly as the second Trump administration juggles border security, mass deportations, public safety, and brokering an end to numerous foreign conflicts. “Everything else is falling rapidly. And it’s not done yet, but boy, are we making progress,” the president quipped.

William A. Galston, a senior fellow in governance studies at Brookings, suggested that discontent over perceived inaction on economic issues could be assuaged by quick and decisive action addressing the nation’s cost-of-living crisis. “Driven largely by public discontent over persistently high prices, approval of Donald Trump’s performance as president declined substantially in 2025. What the public saw as the president’s inadequate focus on the economy made things worse,” Galston wrote. “At the same time, many of Trump’s disappointed 2024 supporters could shift back toward him if the economy improves.”

“Economic concerns remain dominant, and the public’s assessment offers the president little encouragement,” Galston observed. He pointed to surveys in which voters expressed concern that the president was focusing too much energy and attention on issues like foreign policy, instead of addressing economic issues impacting everyday Americans. “The public’s perception of misplaced priorities has consequences. Only 38% believe that Trump cares about ‘people like you,’ while 62% think that he does not,” Galston wrote. Citing a CBS News survey, Galston suggested that as much as 40% of the electorate who currently disapprove of Trump’s job performance could come back around if his administration, aided by congressional Republicans, makes serious headway tackling economic issues. “If this happens, Republicans’ prospects in the midterm elections would brighten.”

According to the RealClearPolitics polling average, Trump’s job approval-disapproval differential is at an all-time high for his second term with a 13.2-point gap between approve (42.1%) and disapprove (55.3%). The Harvard-Harris poll classified the president as “underperforming,” according to voters, but noted that voters consider Trump’s job performance better than Biden’s.