President Donald Trump’s approval rating has declined across all major policy areas, according to a poll.
According to new polling by Harvard CAPS/Harris, Trump’s approval rating has decreased across all the policy areas the pollsters measure including the economy, immigration, foreign affairs and government administration—though his overall policy platform remains popular.
Newsweek reached out to the White House by email for comment outside of normal business hours.
Why It Matters
Trump’s approval rating is useful in testing the temperature of the nation. It will prove key when voters head to the midterm elections in November. Traditionally, the party that does not hold the White House tends to do better in the midterms.
What To Know
The poll found that Trump’s approval rating on the economy has declined from 49 percent in February 2025 to 40 percent in March 2026. It fell 5 points from February 2026.
His approval rating on the handling of inflation also declined by 7 percentage points from February 2025 to March 2026 – from 45 percent to 38 percent. Just a month ago, it stood at 44 percent.
And, still over the past year, his approval rating on immigration declined from 56 percent to 46 percent and on foreign affairs it dropped from 48 percent to 41 percent.
In February 2025, 49 percent of people approved of Trump’s administering of the government but by March 2026 this declined to 43 percent.
His approval rating also declined with regards to the reduction of the cost of the government and returning America to its values.
The latest poll of 2,009 registered voters was conducted between March 25-26, as the Iran war appears to have no end in sight and the partial government shutdown continues. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 1.99 percentage points, .
Amid the U.S. war with Iran, gas prices continue to increase. On Monday, the U.S. national average price of gas reached $4 a gallon for the first time in three years, new price tracking data revealed. The poll found that 41 percent of people approve of Trump’s management of the Iran conflict.
Other recent polls have not been especially favorable to Trump. The latest YouGov survey showed that 38 percent of Americans approve of Trump, compared with 56 percent who disapprove. That poll surveyed 1,665 adults from March 20-23.
The poll surveyed 1,000 respondents from March 20-25 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
And, according to a University of Massachusetts Amherst poll released Monday, 33 percent of respondents said they approved of Trump’s job performance, while 62 percent disapproved.
Writing on X Tuesday, Nate Silver, a statistician and political analyst, said Trump’s approval rating had fallen “below 40 percent” for the first time on his tracker and that his net approval rating had hit -17.4 percent, which he said was “also a new low.”
However, the Harvard CAPS/ Harris poll still found that many of Trump’s policies command the support of the majority of Americans. 85 percent of people support lowering prescription drug prices, for instance, and 77 percent support deporting immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally and have committed crimes (54 percent for deporting all immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally).
On each issue, Trump’s approval rating remains higher than former President Joe Biden’s was when he left office in January 2025—barring returning America to its values, which was not polled then.
What People Are Saying
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle previously told Newsweek that “the ultimate poll was November 5, 2024, when nearly 80 million Americans overwhelmingly elected President Trump to deliver on his popular and common-sense agenda.”
He added: “No other president in history has accomplished more for the American people than President Trump, who is working tirelessly to create jobs, cool inflation, increase housing affordability, and more. The president has already made historic progress, not only in America, but around the world, and this is just the beginning as his agenda continues taking effect.”
Mark Penn, co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll and Stagwell chairman and CEO said in a statement: “Trump shows a small decline given the twin events of the Iran War and the DHS shutdown, and the Congressional race remains tight. Gas price increases are likely behind the decline, but such declines are likely temporary if the war goes as planned. Support for the war is split along partisan lines but there are no questions in voter minds about the evil intentions of Iranian regime.”
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