President Donald Trump's approval rating held at 32% in the first Reuters/Ipsos poll completed after the midterm elections, according to results released on Monday, November 9, 2026 — a reading that leaves the president near the lowest point of his political career as his party absorbs a sweeping defeat in the November 3 midterms. The survey, conducted online nationwide from November 6 to 9 among 1,705 American adults, found his standing unchanged from two earlier Reuters/Ipsos polls in late October and early November, and just one point above the 31% career low of mid-October. Behind the flat number lies a sharper story: only 21% of Americans approve of his handling of the cost of living.

Key Points

• Trump's approval stands at 32% in the Reuters/Ipsos poll completed November 9 — unchanged from the two prior readings, one point above his mid-October low of 31%.
• Only 21% approve of his handling of the cost of living; just 25% approve of his economic stewardship.
• His immigration approval, at 38%, tops his economic marks; 81% of Republicans back his immigration approach, but only 50% do so on the cost of living.
• The poll ran online nationwide November 6-9 among 1,705 US adults, with a margin of error of about 2 points.
• It comes a week after Democrats took both chambers in the November 3 midterms, their biggest House win since at least 2008.

What Happened

The Reuters/Ipsos poll is the first major national survey of the president's standing to be completed since voters delivered their verdict in the midterms. Some 32% of Americans said they approve of Trump's performance in the White House, the same figure recorded in two prior Reuters/Ipsos polls in late October and early November. The stability is itself the story: a week after a punishing election result, his standing has neither recovered nor fallen further.

What stands out most is the gap between his overall rating and his marks on the issue voters care about most. Just 21% gave Trump a thumbs-up on his management of the cost of living. Reuters reported that rising prices — and fuel costs pushed higher by the war with Iran that began in February — weighed heavily on household finances and helped drive the Republican defeat. Only 25% approve of his handling of the economy as a whole.

Background and Context

Trump's Republican Party suffered a staggering defeat in the November 3 midterm elections, losing control of both chambers of the US Congress. With some races still undecided, Democrats scored their biggest victory in the House since at least 2008, flipping Senate seats in traditionally conservative states including Kansas, South Carolina and Texas.

The president's approval rating had been sliding for months before the vote. In mid-October, a Reuters/Ipsos poll put him at 31%, the lowest of his career. A late-October reading and an early-November reading both came in at 32%, and the new survey shows no movement at all. The cost of living has been the through-line — voters told pollsters all campaign that prices were their top concern, and fuel prices rose sharply after the United States launched its war on Iran in February, keeping energy costs elevated into the election.

Trump Approval Rating: The Numbers Behind 32%

The headline figure conceals splits that explain both the midterm result and the president's options now. On the cost of living, his 21% approval is the weakest mark in the survey. On the economy overall, 25% approve. On immigration, 38% approve. The pattern is consistent: Americans back the president far more on border enforcement than on the kitchen-table issues that decide elections.

Inside the Republican Party, the divide is just as clear. Eighty-one percent of Republicans support Trump's immigration approach, but only half do so on the cost of living — roughly one in two Republican voters does not approve of how he is handling the issue they rank first. The numbers suggest voters have not changed their minds since the midterms — they have simply confirmed the judgement they delivered at the ballot box. For more on his standing since the vote, see our report on the Civiqs tracker showing Trump underwater in 39 states and the final pre-election Reuters/Ipsos poll, which also put him at 32%.

Reactions and Quotes

Reuters reported that the president's low rating on the cost of living "has also hurt his allies in Congress," a judgement borne out by the midterm results. The poll's findings land as the incoming Democratic majorities prepare their agenda and the president's own party debates what went wrong. The Democratic sweep gives the opposition a powerful argument that the election was a referendum on the cost of living: when only one in five Americans approves of the president's handling of prices, the party in power has little room to claim the result was about anything else.

Why It Matters

A president at 32% approval, facing a Congress controlled by the opposition, has limited room to govern. The new Democratic majorities will set the agenda from January, with a mandate the poll numbers help explain. The president's weakness on the economy — the issue voters care about most — means the administration will struggle to build public support for its priorities, whether on trade, energy or the war in Iran. The same 32% reading has now appeared in three consecutive Reuters/Ipsos surveys.

What Happens Next

The new Congress takes its seats in January, with Democrats in control of both chambers. The president will face a legislature able to block his agenda, investigate his administration and set its own terms on spending, immigration and the war in Iran. How he responds to a 32% approval rating — whether by adjusting his economic message or leaning further into immigration enforcement — will shape the first months of divided government. The next Reuters/Ipsos readings will show whether the flat line at 32% is a floor or a staging post for further decline.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Trump's approval rating in the new Reuters/Ipsos poll?
Some 32% of Americans approve of President Donald Trump's performance, unchanged from two prior Reuters/Ipsos polls and one point above his career-low 31% in mid-October.

How many people were surveyed, and when?
The poll was conducted online nationwide from November 6 to 9, 2026, among 1,705 US adults, with a margin of error of about 2 percentage points.

Why is Trump's approval rating so low?
Reuters reported that rising prices depressed his rating. Only 21% approve of his handling of the cost of living, and just 25% approve of his economic stewardship, with Iran-war fuel costs weighing on household finances.

How does his immigration approval compare?
Trump's approval on immigration policy stands at 38%, well above his economic marks. Among Republicans, 81% back his immigration approach, compared with 50% on the cost of living.

What happened in the midterm elections?
Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress on November 3, 2026, scoring their biggest House victory since at least 2008 and flipping Senate seats in Kansas, South Carolina and Texas.