The latest Economist/YouGov result puts President Donald Trump at his lowest approval mark in that tracker since returning to office. It also arrives as several national surveys show Democrats ahead on the generic congressional ballot.
Donald Trump’s approval rating reached another record low in a new Economist/YouGov poll found that 33% of Americans approve of his job performance. The survey, released August 11, 2026, marked a 3 percentage-point decline from the prior week and the lowest reading in YouGov’s tracking since Trump returned to office in 2025.
The number is a warning sign for Republicans heading toward November’s midterm elections, though it is not a forecast. Approval polls measure a president’s standing at a particular moment; the harder question is whether a weak national rating will change turnout, candidate races and party control of Congress.
33% is the latest low
The Economist/YouGov survey was conducted August 7-10 among 1,589 U.S. adults. Its reported margin of error was plus or minus 3.2 percentage points, an important reminder that modest week-to-week movement can fall within a poll’s statistical uncertainty.
Still, the direction is notable. The 33% approval figure was down from 36% the previous week and was described as Trump’s lowest result in YouGov polling since he returned to the White House.
A poll is best read as a snapshot rather than a final judgment. Results can shift based on events, economic conditions, which issues are most prominent and the precise group of people reached by a survey.
Other averages show negative territory
The YouGov finding is unusually low, but it does not stand apart from the broader picture cited in recent polling averages. On August 11, RealClearPolitics showed Trump at 39.2% approval and 58.6% disapproval.
A New York Times polling average listed 37% approval and 59% disapproval that day. Silver Bulletin’s average put Trump at 38.1% approval and 58.5% disapproval.
Those figures are not interchangeable with one another. Averages use different combinations of polls and methods, while individual surveys use different wording, timing and samples. Their shared message, however, is that Trump was underwater nationally: more respondents disapproved than approved.
Trust, direction and age concerns
The latest Economist/YouGov poll measured more than job approval. Sixty percent of respondents said they viewed Trump as not honest and trustworthy, while 65% said the country was headed in the wrong direction.
The survey also found 53% saying the 80-year-old president was too old to be in the White House. Sixty-one percent said they believed Trump was using the presidency for personal gain, and 55% said they believed he was using the Justice Department against political enemies.
Those are perceptions reported by survey respondents, not independent findings of fact. But politically, they help explain why a president’s approval number can remain weak even when supporters are strongly committed: evaluations of character, power and direction often shape voter views alongside prices, jobs and policy disputes.
The midterm signal is real but limited
The same Economist/YouGov poll gave Democrats an 8-point advantage over Republicans on the generic congressional ballot, a broad question asking which party voters prefer to control Congress. Separate early-August polls from Marquette Law School and Reuters/Ipsos showed Democratic advantages of 6 points and 5 points, respectively.
That consistency gives Democrats a favorable national signal. Yet a generic ballot is not a seat-by-seat projection. House and Senate contests depend on candidate quality, district lines, local issues, fundraising, state political leanings and whether voters actually show up.
Trump has pushed back on the idea that his personal standing tells the whole story. In comments to Punchbowl News, he said Republican voters were angry with congressional GOP leadership rather than with him, while pointing to his 2024 wins and questioning whether his supporters would vote if he were not on the ballot.
Why one weak poll still matters
Presidential approval matters because it can affect how a governing party’s candidates frame campaigns. When a president is popular, allies often seek to nationalize races around the administration’s agenda. When a president is unpopular, candidates may emphasize local credentials or put more distance between themselves and the White House.
Republicans can reasonably argue that more than three months remain before the midterms, leaving ample time for public attitudes to change. They may also point out that Trump’s electoral coalition has not always behaved like a conventional polling model, especially when the president himself is directly on the ballot.
Democrats, meanwhile, will see the 33% approval result and the generic-ballot edge as evidence that dissatisfaction is broad enough to be translated into congressional gains. Whether that happens will depend on whether those views persist and whether Democrats can turn a national mood into victories in competitive districts.
What the next polls need to show
The most useful follow-up will be less about whether Trump’s approval rises or falls by a single point. It will be whether multiple pollsters find a sustained change over several weeks, particularly among independents and voters in closely contested states and districts.
Economic sentiment will also be central. The Marquette survey released August 5 identified inflation and the cost of living as the most important issue for respondents, with the economy next. If those concerns improve or worsen, Trump’s standing could move with them.
For now, the Economist/YouGov result offers a clear benchmark: 33% approval, down 3 points in a week, and a new low in that pollster’s tracking of Trump’s second presidency. It is a meaningful data point, but the midterm consequences remain unproven.
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