Multiple polls show Trump approval rating at record low ahead of 2026 midterms
Two polls conducted in October 2026 show President Trump's approval rating at a record low, with the Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll placing it at 33 percent among U.S. adults and the Reuters/Ipsos poll placing it at 31 percent. Both polls were published roughly two weeks before the 2026 midterm elections. The Washington Post poll also shows Democrats holding an eight-point lead over Republicans in the race for House control.
22
Divergence score
This event sits in the top 20% of divergence this week. 7 outlets covered it, splitting into 2 framing camps across 3 bias groups.
2 camps
3 bias groups
The spectrum · how 7 outlets placed this story
LeftCenterRight
Washington Post
Reuters
PBS NewsHour
Jerusalem Post
HuffPost
Al Jazeera
The Hill
Supportive of action
Neutral
Dismissive
Critical
Alarmist
International angle
Widest split · the two outlets furthest apart, and who published first
Furthest apart on this story
Washington Post
Trump approval hits record low, handing Democrats a clear midterm edge - The Washington Post
Democrats gaining structural midterm advantage · negative
Reuters
Trump's approval falls to record low of 31% as midterms near, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
Record-low approval number as the core finding · neutral
First to report
- Washington Postfirst
- Reuters+15.6 h
- PBS NewsHour+25.4 h
- HuffPost+26.6 h
- Jerusalem Post+26.7 h
- Al Jazeera+37.1 h
- The Hill+38.6 h
By each outlet's earliest publish time in this story. Feeds that index slowly can appear later than they printed.
The split, in one line
WaPo leads with Democrats' structural advantage and voter mood breadth; Reuters focuses tightly on the record-low approval number itself. The polls differ by two points on Trump's approval, with neither outlet treating the gap as a contradiction.
How each outlet covered it
Lightly covered so far
Too few outlets to map a left-right split. Here is each take as it stands.
Sparse coverage · 2 outlets
“Trump's approval falls to record low of 31% as midterms near, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds”
“Trump approval hits record low, handing Democrats a clear midterm edge - The Washington Post”
5 tracked claims across 7 outlets
Fact ledger
All5Disputed1Claimed3Corroborated1
1/7
Disputed
Trump's approval rating among U.S. adults stands at 33 percent (WaPo/ABC/Ipsos) vs. 31 percent (Reuters/Ipsos)
Corroborated
Disputed
4 more tracked claimsSign up free to see the full ledger