Eleven months into Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office, a sweeping new national poll is painting a stark picture of how Americans truly feel about his second-term leadership — and the data shows a country deeply divided, uneasy, and increasingly skeptical. Early coverage in a major polling breakdown highlights the headline finding: Trump’s overall approval rating remains stuck in the low 40s, while a firm majority disapproves of his job performance.
Across multiple national surveys, aggregated into a compiled polling tracker, Trump’s approval has hovered between 40% and 43% for months. Fresh results from a YouGov/Economist panel and a Harvard CAPS/Harris survey reinforce the pattern: the country is sharply polarized, with his base fiercely loyal and everyone else largely unmoved.
In one of the most striking data points, a Reuters/Ipsos poll reported through a national approval snapshot found that nearly two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, inflation, and ongoing scandals — concerns that echo his first-term struggles documented years earlier in long-term public confidence studies.
New polling is wild. Trump is back in the White House and STILL underwater with voters. Shows how baked-in the polarization has become. — Nate C. (@DataNateUSA) Dec 10, 2025
The poll digs deeper into voter sentiment, asking not just about job performance but also whether Trump “cares about people like you,” whether he is honest, and whether he respects democratic norms. Majorities answered negatively across those measures — a trend reflected in historical polling patterns showing that voters often draw a sharp distinction between economic ratings and personal trust.
But the picture on the economy itself has shifted. Eleven months in, many respondents report feeling squeezed by rent, groceries, fuel costs, and shrinking savings, a sentiment echoed in a recent affordability analysis that found household budgets under severe pressure, particularly among working- and middle-class voters.
The “affordability president” message clearly isn’t landing. People feel the pain every day. Polls are just catching up. — Lila R. (@PollingLila) Dec 10, 2025
Immigration — Trump’s signature issue — remains highly divisive. According to the new poll, a narrow majority disapproves of his overall immigration approach, echoing sentiments in fresh data on birthright citizenship proposals and supported by fact-checking analyses such as recent speech verification reports.
Respondents also expressed significant discomfort with Trump’s use of presidential pardons — a concern backed by a detailed pardon-tracking survey — and with his decision to authorize military boat strikes near Venezuela, criticized in a recent foreign-policy poll.
It’s not just approval numbers. Look at pardons, foreign policy, immigration — voters are signaling discomfort across the board. — Aaron P. (@AaronPolls) Dec 10, 2025
Even within his base, some cracks are visible. A recent AP-NORC survey covered in a management-confidence review found small but noticeable doubt among Republicans about whether Trump is effectively running the federal government — a shift that would have been unthinkable during his first year in office.
The broader context matters. Eleven months into Trump’s first presidency, approval numbers were similarly poor, with early Quinnipiac and Pew polling showing national frustration with chaos, turnover, and legislative gridlock. Now, that history seems to be shaping voter expectations. Political analysts in one approval-tracking commentary say many Americans have already “pre-decided” how they feel about Trump, making persuasion harder than ever.
The country isn’t just divided — it’s exhausted. Everything feels like a repeat of 2017, but louder, harsher, and with fewer people willing to give Trump the benefit of the doubt. — Janelle S. (@JanelleVotes) Dec 10, 2025
Researchers studying political polarization have warned for years that public opinion is no longer just about policy — it’s about identity. A major Pew analysis in a nationwide polarization report shows that mistrust in federal institutions has grown into a defining feature of modern American politics, particularly among Republicans who view Trump as a symbolic bulwark against a government they believe is biased against them.
Meanwhile, analysts observing the spread of political misinformation — summarized in a research study on rumor dynamics — warn that polarized environments like this one can turn even straightforward poll releases into battlegrounds for competing narratives.
Still, not all news is bad for Trump. Among Republicans, his approval remains overwhelmingly high, with strong loyalty recorded in recent GOP alignment polling and echoed throughout a conservative voter analysis. His base is energized, unwavering, and sees every criticism as further proof that he is fighting entrenched systems on their behalf.
But among independents and moderates — the voters who typically decide national elections — the message is clear: skepticism, fatigue, and growing doubts about whether Trump’s style of leadership can deliver stability in a time of rising prices, foreign tensions, and domestic division.