Is Trump doing a good job
Executive summary
On balance, public polling shows Donald Trump is not broadly seen as “doing a good job” by a majority of Americans: national approval averages cluster in the low‑to‑mid 40s with disapproval in the 50s across multiple trackers [1] [2] [3], though his core supporters remain intensely loyal [4] [2].
1. Poll numbers: a deeply polarized ledger
Multiple polling aggregates and trackers put Trump’s overall approval around 40–45 percent with disapproval consistently higher, and some trackers showing his net rating near or below zero [5] [6] [3] [7], while Gallup and other long‑running measures have recorded second‑term lows approaching his all‑time lows [8]; this pattern indicates a presidency that wins firm backing from a subset of the electorate but lacks majority approval nationally [1].
2. Issue‑by‑issue performance: pockets of strength amid broad weakness
On specific issues the picture is mixed: some polls show modest recovery on the economy compared with earlier in the year [5], and certain trackers report Trump earning his best marks on national security and, at times, immigration [9] [2], but other surveys document falling support across multiple portfolios—including a clear slide on immigration after high‑profile enforcement actions and deadly confrontations in cities—that drove immigration approval to its lowest since he returned to the White House [10] [11].
3. The loyal base versus everyone else
A defining feature of the data is consolidation at the top: polls show extremely high approval among Republicans and especially MAGA identifiers — figures as high as the mid‑80s to high‑90s within those groups — which stabilizes his numbers even while independents, moderates and many white voters show high disapproval [2] [4]; commentators sympathetic to the president argue that this cohesion is a political strength rather than a liability [4].
4. Temporal and geographic variation matters
Approval is not uniform: daily and state‑level trackers document meaningful variation across time and place, with localized losses in areas affected by immigration enforcement and in demographic groups that shifted away from him since 2024 [7] [6]; polling averages also move with events—major incidents, policy rollouts and economic signals produce short‑term swings in the low single digits [5] [12].
5. What “doing a good job” means politically and practically
If “doing a good job” is measured strictly by holding together a winning electoral coalition and maintaining a loyal base, the evidence points to success: his supporters remain overwhelmingly behind him [4] [2]. If the metric is broader public approval or governing across partisan lines, the verdict is negative: most national polls show disapproval outpacing approval and issue ratings eroding in several areas crucial to swing voters, which poses risks for midterm prospects and legislative leverage [6] [9].
6. Caveats, competing narratives and what the data omits
Polling is the clearest evidence available in these sources, but it cannot fully adjudicate policy effectiveness or long‑term outcomes; news outlets and partisan commentators emphasize different framings—some highlight stable base approval as proof of success [4], while others emphasize slipping multi‑issue ratings and second‑term lows as evidence of underperformance [10] [8]. The sources do not provide a definitive scorecard of policy outcomes versus political perception, so assessments should weigh both the measurable shifts in public opinion documented above and the limits of polls as a proxy for governance [5] [1] [6].