Trump cites 60 percent approval as polls show 31 percent low

President Donald Trump said his job approval rating is around 60 percent. This claim contradicts recent polling data that places his support much lower as the 2026 midterm elections approach.

Trump made the statement in an interview with Byron York of The Washington Examiner. York noted that the RealClearPolitics average shows an approval rating of 38.8 percent. Disapproval sits at 60.4 percent. Trump dismissed these figures as fake.

The president specifically criticized The New York Times for its use of data from Wedgewood Polls. That company recently admitted to creating fabricated numbers for a social experiment. The newspaper said it did not use those fake polls when calculating the president's approval.

Trump asked York if his approval was 37 or 38 percent. He said he was not at 38. When pressed for his own estimate, Trump pointed to a range in the 60s. He cited a previous CNN segment by data analyst Harry Enten.

Enten noted that Trump's approval among MAGA voters remains near 99 percent. Trump used this figure to suggest his overall support is higher. However, the same CNN analysis showed a steeper decline in his general standing. Trump moved from a net approval of plus 8 points on inflation in 2024 to minus 45 points before the midterms.

Enten described the current situation as a five alarm Trumpster fire this week. That assessment followed a Reuters/Ipsos poll that recorded Trump's approval at 31 percent. This is the lowest figure recorded for him across both of his presidential terms. Trump continued to praise Enten and CNN for their polls despite recent attempts to remove the network from the White House.

The New York Times also published a new poll this week with Siena College. It placed Trump's approval at 34 percent. The paper noted this is the worst approval rating for a president this close to midterms, with one exception. Harry Truman had a 33 percent approval rating before the 1946 elections.