Trump approval rating drops to record low in new poll

Read the original at The Independent ↗
Cite

Haygarth, D. (2026, September 6). Trump approval rating drops to record low in new poll. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-polls-approval-rating-economy-b3045462.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-09-06 · by Dan Haygarth

Quick Summary

A Financial Times poll conducted by Focaldata found that only 33% of registered voters approve of Donald Trump's performance as president, marking his lowest approval rating since May when the newspaper began asking the question. The poll also revealed that nearly two-thirds of registered voters believe the economy is heading in the wrong direction and 57% say they are worse off financially under Trump's presidency. The key number from the poll is 33%, which represents Trump's record-low approval rating. A separate Gallup poll found that more Americans identify as Democrats than Republicans, with 31% identifying as Democrats compared to 25% who identify as Republicans.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-06, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Donald Trump's approval rating has dropped to a record low of 33%, according to a Financial Times poll. This marks the lowest number recorded since the newspaper began asking the question in May and is a three-point decrease from the previous month. The drop is attributed to pessimism about the economy and cost of living among Americans, with almost two-thirds of registered voters saying they believe the economy is heading in the wrong direction and 57% saying they are worse off financially under Trump's presidency. Fuel costs have also hit an unprecedented high, with diesel soaring to a record national average of $5.85 a gallon. The low approval rating presents a headache for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections, which take place in November.

Written for “Trump Approval Rating Plummeting” on 2026-10-22, grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Approval Rating Plummeting
Politics · 5 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Independent · 1.00 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 12% hedged 2 of 16 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles report on the exact same poll results and quotes from the same source, with identical wording and timestamps within one day of each other.”
The Independent
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 11% hedged 4 of 38 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles report on the same poll results, specifically Trump's record low approval rating, from the same time frame.”
BBC News
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this 🔴 17% hedged 4 of 23 📰 publisher trust 69
“Article A discusses jobs figures and interest rates, while Article B discusses a poll's findings on Trump's approval rating”
Noahpinion
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this 🔴 6% hedged 5 of 78
“Article A is an opinion piece criticizing Donald Trump's presidency, while Article B reports on a new poll showing Trump's approval rating dropping to a record low; although they both mention Trump's approval rating, they describe different aspects of the situation”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 8% hedged 1 of 12 📰 publisher trust 66
“Article A describes a specific poll result, while Article B discusses the general trend and implications of Trump's approval rating without mentioning the same poll or specific numbers”
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
12%
2 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
5
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
2
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-06 · source text last changed 2026-09-06 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 2835 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Dan Haygarth
8 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 He also repeated his frequent appeal for the world to reconsider the development of artificial intelligence, telling French leaders that AI could create a future where "a paradise of machines" takes control of the Earth.
🔮 They stated that Tehran would reopen the key waterway and resume talks on its nuclear programme but only if the US lifts its naval blockade, waives oil sanctions and observes a ceasefire that includes Lebanon.
🔮 Ukraine’s railway operator said the attack may have been aimed at the train carrying the former prime minister, among other dignitaries.
2026-09-14 · assertive framing · Member of UK armed forces dies in Ukraine, MoD says
🔮 This is the lowest number recorded since the newspaper began asking the question in May and a three-point decrease from the previous month.
2026-09-07 · assertive framing · Trump approval rating drops to record low in new poll
🔮 The new head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, said the zone would be declared in the coming days and would stretch for some distance on either side of the Strait "begin[ning] from the line of the US naval blockade".
🔮 If the full results, expected on Monday, show that the AfD has secured a majority, the party could form its first regional government in what would be a seismic moment in post-war German history.
🔮 Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, said: “Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours.”
🔮 This is the lowest number recorded since the newspaper began asking the question in May and a three-point decrease from the previous month.
2026-09-06 · assertive framing · Trump approval rating drops to record low in new poll
Also by Dan Haygarth
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 8 articles by Dan Haygarth →

Topics

Americans Democrats Iran Republicans U.S.

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 6× Iran GPE · 3× Republicans NORP · 3× U.S. GPE · 3× Americans NORP · 2× Democrats NORP · 2× Donald Trump’s PERSON · 1× Financial Times ORG · 1× Focaldata ORG · 1× Republican NORP · 1×

Narrative

It comes as fuel costs hit an unprecedented high in the U.S. on Friday, with diesel soaring to a record national average of $5.85 a gallon as the ongoing war with Iran continues to disrupt global fuel flows. Trump on Friday backed up comments from his vice president and insisted the Iran conflict is a relatively minor operation, rather than a full-on war. "I call it a military conflict because it's small potatoes for us,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office.
framing: assertive · carried by 2 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-06
🔮 This is the lowest number recorded since the newspaper began asking the question in May and a three-point decrease from the previous month.
2026-09-06 · The Independent
Trump approval rating drops to record low in new poll · assertive framing
2026-09-07 · The Independent
Trump approval rating drops to record low in new poll · assertive framing

Claims (16 extracted, 2 hedged)

Donald Trump’s approval rating has dropped to a record low in a major poll, presenting a headache for Republicans in the lead up to the midterm elections. asserted
rating → drop → elections
Less than two months before November’s elections, a Financial Times poll carried out by Focaldata found that only 33 percent of registered voters approve of Trump’s performance as president. asserted
percent → carry → president
This is the lowest number recorded since the newspaper began asking the question in May and a three-point decrease from the previous month. uncertain
newspaper → record → month
Pessimism about the economy and the cost of living among Americans was a primary reason for Trump’s dropping numbers, the poll suggested, as the majority of those polled rejected his trade and tariff policy. uncertain
majority → drop → policy
Almost two-thirds of registered voters said they believed the economy was heading in the wrong direction, and 57 percent said they were worse off financially under the Trump presidency. asserted
they → register → presidency
Only 53 percent of Republican voters said they were in favor of how Trump has handled jobs and the economy, representing an almost eight-point drop from the previous month. asserted
Trump → say → month
It comes as fuel costs hit an unprecedented high in the U.S. on Friday, with diesel soaring to a record national average of $5.85 a gallon as the ongoing war with Iran continues to disrupt global fuel flows. Trump on Friday backed up comments from his vice president and insisted the Iran conflict is a relatively minor operation, rather than a full-on war. "I call it a military conflict because it's small potatoes for us,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office. asserted
president → come → Office
“It’s not a big thing. asserted
It → ’ → ?
During his comments on Friday, the president also downplayed the centrality of the Hormuz Strait, another important aspect of the war. asserted
president → downplay → war
The president claimed that new pipelines, shipping routes and overland oil transport would replace the key waterway, which is a major global oil hub. asserted
which → claim → waterway
“The Hormuz Strait is not what it used to be,” Trump said. asserted
Trump → use → ?
Iran has used its proximity to the strait to hamstring global oil trade and continues to exert leverage over the U.S., though the president claimed the waterway was dwindling in importance. asserted
waterway → use → importance
“They’re going to end up with a Hormuz Strait that’s not very necessary anymore,” he said. asserted
he → go → Strait
The poll will make for tough reading for Republicans who hope to retain control of the House and Senate in November's elections. asserted
who → make → elections
A separate poll found that a growing number of Americans now identify as Democrats. asserted
number → find → Democrats
The latest Gallup data shows 31 percent of U.S. adults identified as Democrats in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 25 percent who identified as Republicans. asserted
who → show → Republicans
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