On Wednesday, a new CNN poll revealed that President Donald Trump’s approval rating has cratered to a record low among his most essential support group: white people. As Newsweek notes, this demographic “has long formed the backbone of his electoral coalition,” and the fact that he’s losing white voters reflects the massive scale of the public’s “growing dissatisfaction” with his performance.
The poll found that Trump’s net approval among white voters has plunged to a historic low of -20, a major drop from the flat 0 net approval he held with white voters one year ago. What’s more, it showed that Trump’s overall approval rating has sunk to just 34 percent, matching the lowest point in his political career, which came just after the January 6th insurrection during the last days of his first term. But the new survey reveals that his standing is even worse than his previous low. While his approval rating is the same, his net approval is actually lower, falling to -32 points today versus the -28 he held just after J6.
According to Newsweek, “The difference is driven by higher disapproval. In the latest July 2026 survey, 66 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s performance, compared with 62 percent in January 2021, meaning more voters now hold a negative view of the president than they did in the immediate fallout from the 2021 riot.” Growing dissatisfaction with Trump has been caused by a range of issues, most notably his poor handling of the economy and the disastrous war with Iran, as well as a variety of highly visible domestic follies, from his mishandling of the Epstein files release to anger over brutal immigration crackdowns to his obsession with vanity projects.
The poll found that “a record-high 73 percent of Americans believe Trump has not paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems, while just 27 percent said he has focused on the right priorities,” explains Newsweek. “Public frustration extended beyond policy disagreements. Around three-quarters of respondents said Trump is not in touch with the problems ordinary Americans face in their daily lives, while roughly two-thirds said he does not put the country’s interests ahead of his personal gain. Only 27 percent described Trump as someone who understands the challenges facing ordinary Americans.”
What’s more, “just 25 percent approved of his handling of inflation, while only 21 percent approved of his management of gas prices. Approval of his handling of the situation in Iran stood at 28 percent…Roughly two-thirds of Americans believe Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions and that his military decisions relating to Iran have hurt the United States.”