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Trump approval near record low ahead of elections, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

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The Straits Times. (2026, November 2). Trump approval near record low ahead of elections, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/trump-approval-near-record-low-ahead-of-elections-reutersipsos-poll-finds

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Straits Times · collected 2026-11-02 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll indicates President Donald Trump's approval rating remains near its record low at 32%, with voters seeing November’s congressional midterm elections as an opportunity to oppose him. The poll also shows Democrats have a slight edge over Republicans in the generic ballot question, with 46% preferring Democrats compared to 38% for Republicans, though this gap has narrowed since last week's poll. The survey highlights that independent voters are particularly likely to view their vote as against Trump rather than for him.
Written by AI on 2026-11-03, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of November 2, 2026, President Donald Trump’s approval rating is near its career low, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on November 1. The poll indicates that 46% of registered voters would prefer Democrats over Republicans by an 8 percentage point margin (46%-38%), in what is known as a "generic ballot" question, reflecting voter opposition ahead of the midterm elections scheduled for November 3.

The poll also underscores Republican vulnerabilities due to rising fuel prices since Trump launched a war on Iran in February. However, this Democratic advantage narrowed from an 11-point lead a week earlier, suggesting that the race could be tightening before Election Day. Despite these national trends, Republicans are still contesting state-by-state and district-by-district races for control of the US Senate and House of Representatives, where they hold some structural advantages.

Written for “Trump Approval Rating Near Record Low” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.50, but all 4 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 124191: attributed speech only · logged 2026-11-03

Story

📰 Trump Approval Rating Near Record Low
Politics · 4 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Trump approval near record low ahead of elections, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds Same event
The Straits Times
Hedges 2 of 10 claims Outlet record 66/100
Trump’s approval rating is near a career low ahead of elections, poll finds Same event
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Hedges 1 of 4 claims Outlet record 63/100
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Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 3 of 17 claims Outlet record 60/100
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Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 4 of 20 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles describe different polls conducted on separate dates with distinct findings and focuses.”
Trump approval rating is historically low for a president heading into the midterms Different event
The Independent
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 27 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles describe similar but different polls and contexts, with distinct dates and poll organizations (Pew Research Center vs. Reuters/Ipsos), indicating they are reporting on separate data points rather than the same specific event.”
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⚖️ Leans left Hedges 14 of 51 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles refer to different polls and timeframes for Trump's approval ratings, indicating they are reporting on separate data rather than the exact same event.”
A potential Democratic wave looms over Trump. Where does MAGA go after the midterms? Different event
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⚖️ Leans left Hedges 4 of 58 claims Outlet record 95/100
“While both articles discuss Trump's low approval ratings, they describe different aspects and timeframes of the situation leading up to an election.”
Trump's ratings hit lowest-ever in brutal poll on eve of the election as Republicans privately blame the president for predicted bloodbath Different event
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 5 of 19 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles describe different polls with slightly different results and frames around them.”
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The Guardian
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 5 of 42 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss Trump's low approval ratings ahead of the midterm elections, they do not describe the same specific incident or occurrence.”
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⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 3 of 66 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles discuss different polls with varying dates and results.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-03 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

The Straits Times
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
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Topics

Democrats Republican Republicans Reuters Reuters/Ipsos

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 7× Democrats NORP · 6× Republicans NORP · 4× Reuters ORG · 3× Congress ORG · 2× Democratic NORP · 2× Republican NORP · 2× Reuters/Ipsos ORG · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Iran GPE · 1×

Narrative

The generic ballot question gives an overall view of which party voters nationwide would like to see in charge in Congress, though it does not capture the nuances of the state-by-state and district-by-district contests that determine control of the US Senate and US House of Representatives.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-03
🔮 The generic ballot question gives an overall view of which party voters nationwide would like to see in charge in Congress, though it does not capture the nuances of the state-by-state and district-by-district contests that determine control of the US Senate and US House of Representatives.
2026-11-03 · The Straits Times
Trump approval near record low ahead of elections, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds · assertive framing

Claims (16 extracted, 1 hedged)

, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds President Donald Trump’s approval rating held near a record low as a broad swath of the US electorate saw their vote in the Nov 3 congressional midterm elections as a way to oppose the Republican president, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Nov 2. uncertain
swath → find → Nov
The poll results underscore Republican vulnerabilities brought on by a surge in fuel prices since Trump launched a war on Iran in February. asserted
Trump → underscore → February
Voters in the nationwide poll said they preferred Democrats over Republicans - 46% to 38% - in what is known as a “generic ballot” question. asserted
what → say → question
Still, that 8-percentage-point Democratic advantage was narrower than in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted a week earlier, when Democrats led by 11 points. asserted
Democrats → conduct → points
The generic ballot question gives an overall view of which party voters nationwide would like to see in charge in Congress, though it does not capture the nuances of the state-by-state and district-by-district contests that determine control of the US Senate and US House of Representatives. asserted
that → give → Representatives
Trump’s fellow Republicans are fighting to retain the party’s majorities in Congress. asserted
Republicans → fight → Congress
Political strategists from both parties think Democrats have the best shot at winning control of the House, where all 435 seats are up for grabs. asserted
seats → think → grabs
Democrats face a more difficult path to victory in the US Senate, with the party on the defensive in Alaska and Michigan in recent days. asserted
party → face → days
While Trump won’t be on the ballot, he looms large in the election. asserted
he → loom → election
Some 32% of poll respondents said they approved of the job Trump was doing in the White House, unchanged from a week earlier and just above his record-low reading of 31% two weeks ago. asserted
Trump → say → %
Among registered voters, some 50% of independents said they saw their vote in congressional elections as a vote against Trump, compared with 13% who said it was a vote for Trump and 33% who said the president wasn’t a factor in their vote. asserted
president → register → vote
Some 78% of voters said the rising cost of living would be very important or the most important issue in deciding how they will vote. asserted
they → say → living
Asked which party was better on the issue, voters in the poll picked Democrats over Republicans, 43% to 32%. asserted
voters → ask → Republicans
Democrats appear to have more enthusiasm about voting, which the party hopes will lead to an advantage in voter turnout. asserted
party → appear → turnout
Some 49% of Democratic voters said they are “very enthusiastic” about voting this year, compared with 33% of Republicans. asserted
they → say → Republicans
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll surveyed 1,765 US adults online and had a margin of error of 2 percentage points. asserted
poll → survey → points
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