Trump's approval ratings remain under water in first week of May polling
As the first week of May comes to a close, President Donald Trump is still slogging through low approval ratings.
A series of polls released last week, coinciding with President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office on April 29, solidified that a growing percentage of Americans were not too pleased with his job performance. His approval numbers reached historic lows not seen by any other president in recent decades, except for Trump himself in 2017.
In the past week, there've been several agency shake-ups, a tense Oval Office meeting with Canada's new leader, social media posts about new holidays and remarks over possible tax hikes, and ongoing back-and-forths with several nations and industries over Trump's aggressive import tariffs.
Over that course of time, the president's approval rating has largely remained unchanged, give or take a few points, based on averages of multiple polls.
Latest polls on Trump's approval rating
According to recent polling data published by RealClearPolitics, Trump's approval rating is 45.2% as of the first week of May. This aggregate does not include a poll released on May 9 by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which reflects a disapproval rating of 51.1% for the second-term president. Just a week earlier, the aggregate listed a 45% approval number on May 2.
An aggregation from The New York Times, which includes the AP-NORC poll and leaves out a recent survey from right-leaning Rasmussen Reports, has a similar average: 44% of Americans are happy with Trump's job performance, while 51% disapprove. It's a two-point uptick in favorability from their average on May 2, which catalogued a 42% aggregate approval and a 52% disapproval.
Here's how the latest few polls measured the president's approval among Americans.
Associated Press-NORC poll
- 41% approve
- 57% disapprove
Conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, the survey also focused on Americans' views on higher education and Trump's recent moves to defund some universities. The results show the public’s perception of the president's actions toward higher education is in line with his overall approval rating, with more disapproving than approving.
Sixty percent of adults disapprove of Trump's handling of issues related to colleges and universities, the poll results found, with Democrats and independents substantially more displeased with the policies.
The survey of 1,175 U.S. adults was conducted May 1-5 and has a margin of error of ±4 percentage points.
The Economist/YouGov poll
- 42% approve
- 52% disapprove
Pollsters also asked about the economy, with 40% of respondents saying the U.S. is currently in a recession, while 35% say it isn't and 25% say they aren't sure.
The survey of 1,850 U.S. adults was conducted May 2-5 and has a margin of error of ±3.5 percentage points.
Morning Consult poll
- 46% approve
- 52% disapprove
Respondents to the survey expressed disapproval of Trump's trade policies, with pollsters concluding voters are 7 points more likely to disapprove than approve of Trump’s handling of trade. Morning Consult says this marks a record low in trade policy approvals in surveys conducted since Trump took office in January.
The survey of 2,263 registered voters was conducted May 2-4 and has a margin of error of ±2 percentage points.
Kathryn Palmer is a trending news reporter for Paste BN. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr.