- White voters' approval of Trump dropped to 47% with a -3 net—the lowest in his second term.
- Trump's overall approval is 39% (‑19 net), hitting second‑term lows amid economic and inflation concerns.
- Economic issues, inflation, tariffs, and optics (ballroom teardown, shutdown) are eroding white and working‑class support.
President Donald Trump’s job approval among white voters—long the bedrock of his political coalition—has dipped into negative territory for the first time in his second term, marking a troubling shift just weeks before the holiday season and with midterms looming next year.
A fresh Economist/YouGov survey, conducted October 24-27 among 1,623 U.S. adults, shows just 47% of white respondents approving of Trump’s performance, while 50% disapprove.
That nets out to -3 points, the lowest for this group since he took office in January.
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It’s a slight worsening from July, when the same pollster pegged white approval at 47% and disapproval at 49%, for a -2 net.
Overall, Trump’s numbers aren’t much prettier: 39% approve, 58% disapprove, handing him a -19 net—his worst in any Economist/YouGov poll this term, and worse than all but one from his first stint in the White House.
YouGov’s Allen Houston called it out bluntly in an email to Newsweek: “This is the lowest net approval Trump has received in any Economist/YouGov Poll in Trump’s second term.”
Details of Why Trump’s Approval is Dropping
White voters powered Trump’s 2024 win—over 80% of his electorate, per AP exit polls—and they’ve typically been his most forgiving demographic.
Losing ground here could ripple into 2026 races, especially in swing districts where white working-class turnout decides close contests.
Dig deeper, and the cracks show on the issues that hit kitchen tables hardest. Trump’s net approval on jobs and the economy sits at -22; on inflation, a brutal -31; even immigration, once a strength, clocks in at -10.
Then there’s the White House East Wing drama: 61% of all Americans dislike the teardown for a $300 million ballroom, with whites not far behind at 57% disapproving and only 30% on board.
Experts aren’t mincing words. George Washington University’s Peter Loge told Newsweek the bleed is demographic-blind: “Voters’ top concerns are inflation, the economy, and jobs.
A majority of voters regardless of race, age, gender, and income bracket think Trump is handling those issues poorly.”
Syracuse political scientist Grant Davis Reeher rattled off a laundry list to the same outlet: the ongoing government shutdown pinching paychecks, flip-flopping tariffs frustrating business owners, stubborn inflation everyone feels, ugly immigration raid footage, and yeah, even the ballroom optics.
A Trend Documented by 2025 Polls
This isn’t a one-off blip. Polls all year have tracked the slide. Back in August, Quinnipiac had Trump at 37% overall approve, 55% disapprove—his second-term nadir then.
Reuters/Ipsos pegged him at 43% in April, citing tariff headaches and a Yemen strike info leak.
By May, another Reuters dip to 42%, with Marquette Law School showing just 37% liking his tariff handling and 34% on inflation.
June brought more gloom: Quinnipiac at 38% approve, 54% disapprove.
September’s Reuters/Ipsos had him at 41%, Americans fretting prices.
And CNBC’s October survey? Economy approval at 42%, tariffs at a net -15.
Low-income voters—many white and working-class—have swung hardest. One poll showed a 44-point net drop in a single month, tied to cost-of-living squeezes.
Trump, meanwhile, insists the numbers are rosy. Aboard Air Force One Monday, he told reporters: “I have my best numbers ever.”
Aggregators like Nate Silver’s bulletin beg to differ—his net sat at -10.8 as of today, a fresh low.
The shutdown drags on, tariffs loom, inflation bites. With whites souring, Republicans eyeing 2026 have reason to sweat. As Reeher put it, it’s “almost like a dealer’s choice” of headaches.
One thing’s clear: the coalition that roared back in 2024 is showing its first real fray.
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