President Donald Trump’s approval rating has declined with a pollster that has been deemed highly accurate.
According to December polling by AtlasIntel, 59.6 percent disapprove of the president while 39.3 percent approve of him. This gives him a net approval rating of -20 percentage points. In November, the number was -15 points, per the pollster.
AtlasIntel was ranked the most accurate polling company of the 2024 election by survey veteran Nate Silver and was previously named the most accurate pollster of the 2020 election by 538.
Newsweek reached out to the White House by email outside of normal business hours for comment.
Why It Matters
Approval ratings are useful in taking the temperature of the nation and measuring the American public’s response to Trump’s policies.
His polling will also be all the more important ahead of the 2026 midterm elections as the GOP has a slim majority of 219 to 214 in the House of Representatives and holds a 53-47 majority in the Senate. Losing just a few seats could make it difficult for the GOP to carry out its agenda during the rest of Trump’s term.
This poll may particularly concern the Trump administration, given the pollster is seen as so accurate.
What To Know
The AtlasIntel polling of 2,315 respondents was conducted between December 15 and 19. It had a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points and showed that Trump’s approval rating has declined by 5 percentage points in one month.
In November, 42.4 percent approved of Trump and 57.2 percent disapproved of him, leaving him with a net approval rating of -15 percentage points.
And in October, Trump’s net approval rating was -4 percentage points with 44.3 percent approving of him and 48.3 disapproving of him.
It comes amid other negative polling regarding the president. According to Reuters/Ipsos polling, 47 percent of survey respondents approved of Trump in January, but this proportion declined to 39 percent in December.
Meanwhile, Gallup polls in 2025 showed that Trump’s popularity peaked when he took office in January, with 47 percent of respondents approving of his presidency. This dipped slightly in February, to 45 percent. In March, his approval rating declined further, to 43 percent, and slightly rebounded in April, to 44 percent.
Morning Consult found in December that Trump’s net approval rating was above water in 22 states, a slight improvement from a similar point in his first term, when his net approval rating was net positive in 21 states.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social in November: “So many Fake Polls are being shown by the Radical Left Media, all slanted heavily toward Democrats and Far Left Wingers…Fake News will never change, they are evil and corrupt but, as I look around my beautiful surroundings, I say to myself, ‘Oh, look, I’m sitting in the Oval Office!'”
White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a previous statement: “Over the past year, the Trump administration has delivered critical progress to turn the page on Joe Biden’s economic disaster: cooling inflation, rising real wages, private-sector job growth, and trillions in investments to make and hire in America. The Trump administration will continue to build on this progress in the new year to continue delivering economic relief for the American people.”
What Happens Next
Trump’s approval rating will continue to fluctuate throughout his presidency. The midterm elections take place in November 2026.
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