Dec. 5, 2025, 7:17 p.m. ET
American approval ratings of President Donald Trump, which have held relatively steady through deployments of the National Guard, unprecedented tariffs and the delayed release of the Epstein files, have fallen slightly, according to a new analysis of public polling compiled by The New York Times.
The reason? A greater share of poll respondents blamed the president’s handling of the economy. At the same time, the share of respondents who disapprove of the president rose to new heights. A New York Times analysis of polls found the president’s approval rating had fallen to 42%; his disapproval rating rose 55%.
In a statement, the White House blamed Trump’s predecessor for ongoing issues in the economy.
“Putting Joe Biden’s economic disaster behind us has been a Day One priority for President Trump. Every member of the Trump Administration is playing their part to deliver economic relief for the American people, from signing historic drug pricing deals to securing working-class tax cuts,” said Kush Desai, a spokesperson for the Trump White House. “More work remains, but Americans can rest assured that the same policies that created a historic economy in President Trump’s first term are set to repeat the success in his second term.”
The Times analysis found declining support among political independents and college-educated White men.
New findings about Trump’s approval ratings come on the heels of a Gallup poll registering the lowest ratings of his second term.
In a Gallup poll conducted from Nov. 3-25, 36% approved of Trump’s job performance, down from 41% in October. That approaches Trump’s lowest-ever approval rating of 34% in 2021, near the end of his first term after the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot, according to Gallup.
Trump’s approval rating fell among Republicans and Independents, as well as Democrats. Republicans’ rating is the lowest of Trump’s second term (84%) down from 91%. With Independents, Trump’s approval rating fell to 25%, down from 33% in October. Democrats gave Trump an approval rating of 3%, down from 6% the previous month.
