Donald Trump’s approval rating drops to second term low after rocky month dogged by crises

Donald Trump’s approval rating has dropped to a new second term low, with just 36 percent of Americans agreeing with his political decisions.

According to a new Gallup poll, Trump’s approval among voters has dropped five percent after the US president enjoyed a steady string of support between August to October, with poll numbers hovering between 40 and 41 percent.

Although the new ranking is not the lowest score the president has ever received, it is just two points shy of this milestone, which saw Trump’s approval rating plummet to just 34 percent back in 2021 after the Capitol riots on January 6^.

The most recent Gallup poll was conducted from November 3 to November 25, meaning it covered the government shutdown, which finally concluded after 43 days on November 12.

During the shutdown – which was the longest in US history – around $11 billion was lost in GDP, hundreds of thousands of government employees were furloughed and families left in crisis with the threat of food assistance being suspended (it was eventually paid in full when the government reopened).

Donald Trump's approval ratings have dropped to their lowest ranking during his second term (Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)

The resulting fallout and the way it was handled have likely played a role in the approval ratings, with even some staunch Republicans having turned their back on Trump.

According to the data, 84 percent of Republicans approved of Trump, 25 percent of Independents and just three percent of Democrats.

Among the issues most concerning voters are the economy (36 percent approval), the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians (33 percent), the federal budget (31 percent), Ukraine (31 percent) and healthcare police (30 percent).

Meanwhile, his highest approval ratings remain in areas such as crime (43 percent), foreign affairs (41 percent), foreign trade (39 percent) and immigration (37 percent).

Additionally, aside from the Gallup poll, the president’s approval rating also fell to a second-term low in a Reuters/Ipsos survey released Nov. 18, sliding to 38 percent.

Trump's handling of the Epstein files has been one source of contention among voters ' ( Pete Marovich/Getty Images)

The survey specifically singled out Trump’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, something which only 20 percent of Americans feel he handled well.

In the run up to November 2025, Trump had strongly opposed the release of the Department of Justice’s files pertaining to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associates, even branding the whole saga a ‘hoax’.

However, earlier this month he backtracked on his earlier disapproval just hours before Congress formally voted to release the files.