Reuters/Ipsos poll puts Trump approval at 31 percent, a record low

US President Donald Trump's approval rating stands at 31 percent in a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Reuters and Al Jazeera both describe the figure as a record low.

The poll comes ahead of US congressional midterm elections set for 3 November. According to Al Jazeera, the elections could determine control of the House and Senate.

Other poll findings

According to Al Jazeera, the same Reuters/Ipsos poll found Democrats leading Republicans by 12 points. Respondents were asked whether they would vote for a generic, unnamed Democrat or Republican.

According to a Reuters summary, Americans in the poll were worried about high gasoline prices. The summary said they appeared ready to punish the Republican Party in the 3 November congressional elections.

According to Al Jazeera, the share of Americans who disapprove of Trump has grown steadily in recent months. Al Jazeera said this was especially so since the 28 February launch of what it called the US-Israel war on Iran. It said the war has driven up petrol and diesel prices and affected the wider economy. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include poll data showing that the war or fuel prices caused the change in Trump's approval.

Other recent polls

Al Jazeera also cited two separate surveys:

• An NBC poll released Sunday found 71 percent of Americans said the country was on the "wrong track". In the same poll, 55 percent said they would vote for the Democratic Party if an election were held that day.
• A Washington Post/ABC/Ipsos poll released Monday found Trump's approval at a record-low 33 percent. Seven in 10 respondents said petrol or gasoline was becoming unaffordable.

The 31 percent and 33 percent figures come from different polls. They do not contradict each other, but the reports do not explain the difference.

What the reports do not include

The 31 percent figure comes from a single poll. Al Jazeera's account credits Reuters/Ipsos, so it is not independent confirmation. The reports do not give the poll's sample size, margin of error, fieldwork dates or methodology. They also lack methodology details for the NBC and Washington Post/ABC/Ipsos polls.

The reports do not state the previous record low in Reuters/Ipsos polling or when it was recorded. Vocemundi reviewed only a short summary of the Reuters report, not its full text.

The reports do not include any response from the White House, Trump, the Republican Party or the Democratic Party.

Analysis

A 31 percent approval rating, if sustained, would place the president's party in a difficult position weeks before the midterms. However, a single poll is a snapshot, and the reports do not include its margin of error or fieldwork dates. Al Jazeera links falling approval to fuel prices and the Iran war, but the reports do not show that link as causal. Several outcomes remain possible. Approval could recover, stay low, or matter less than local races and turnout. Control of the House and Senate will depend on actual votes cast, which polls can indicate but not determine.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.