President Donald Trump’s approval rating hit a new low last week, and the slide is still being driven by the same problem that has shadowed him for months: prices. In the most recent YouGov poll this week, Americans said inflation and prices were their top concern, putting jobs and the economy behind that issue as the president heads into another stretch of political strain.
The numbers help explain why. Trump’s approval rating was 40.5% and his disapproval rating was 56.3% in the RealClearPolling average as of Friday, May 8, 2026 at 3 p.m., down from the 50.5% approval and 44.3% disapproval he carried into office in January 2025. His current approval is also below his first-term average of 42.8% and below Joe Biden’s overall approval rating of 43.2%.
The broader mood in the YouGov survey was just as stark. Respondents were most likely to name “inflation and prices” as the issue that mattered most, followed by “jobs and the economy,” with healthcare and taxes and government spending also drawing attention. Sixty-one percent said the country was “off on the wrong track,” a verdict that lines up with the political drag Trump is facing as gas prices rise and the October government shutdown continues to color views of his stewardship.
The approval drop did not begin this week. Trump’s numbers started sinking during the October 2025 shutdown, then worsened more recently as gas prices climbed. Last week, his approval rating reached its all-time low. The war in Iran is also feeding into the weakness: 60% of those polled opposed the war, and 60% disapproved of the way Trump is handling it.
That mix of economic anxiety and foreign-policy dissatisfaction is showing up in congressional numbers too. A generic congressional poll gave Democrats 38% to 34% for Republicans, while 27% said they were not sure or would not vote at all. That leaves control of Congress unsettled heading toward the 2026 midterms, even with Trump still holding the loyalty of most Republicans.
The state-level picture is no kinder. Civiqs last updated Trump’s net approval in Pennsylvania to -12% on May 6, with about 54% of residents disapproving and 41% approving. The numbers were even weaker among people with postgraduate education, where 69% disapproved, and among college graduates, where disapproval stood at 57%. Women were also broadly negative, with 60% disapproving.
Age and race split the picture further. Among voters 18 to 34, 66% disapproved of Trump, and 57% of those 35 to 49 did too. Older voters were more favorable, with 51% of those 50 to 64 approving and 49% of those 65 and older approving. Among Black or African-American voters, 90% disapproved, the highest unfavorable reading in the poll.
The tension for Trump is that his coalition is holding while his standing keeps eroding everywhere else. Republicans still approved of his job performance by 86%, and among men, 48% approved while 46% disapproved. But independents were negative at 55% disapproval, and Democrats were nearly unanimous at 97% disapproval. With prices still front and center and the midterms approaching, the question is no longer whether Trump’s economic message is under pressure. The polls show it already is.
