Trump approval hits record-low 31 percent, polls show Republican struggles

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Al Jazeera Staff. (2026, October 19). Trump approval hits record-low 31 percent, polls show Republican struggles. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/19/trump-approval-hits-record-low-31-percent-polls-show-republican-struggles?traffic_source=rss

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Al Jazeera · collected 2026-10-19 · by Al Jazeera Staff

Quick Summary

Donald Trump's approval rating has hit a new low at 31 percent according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, the lowest in his political career. The same poll shows Republicans trailing Democrats by 12 points when asked about voting preferences for generic candidates. This decline coincides with growing disapproval following events such as the US-Israel war on Iran, which has increased fuel prices and economic concerns. Polls indicate voter frustration ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, where control of the House and Senate could shift based on public sentiment towards Trump's leadership.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-19, 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

As of October 18, 2026, President Donald Trump's approval rating has hit a record low of 31%, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll. The same poll indicates that nearly 7 in 10 Americans disapprove of his performance, marking another unprecedented dip since the beginning of the US-Israel war on Iran in February. This trend is further highlighted by a Reuters/Ipsos survey also showing Democrats leading Republicans in voter preference for generic congressional candidates by 12 points. The poll was conducted from October 9 to 13, 2026, among 2,545 U.S. adults, with an error margin of ±2 percentage points overall and ±2.2 points among registered voters. These findings come just weeks before the midterm elections, signaling a significant challenge for the Republican Party as many Americans view the country's direction negatively due to rising costs and economic impacts from ongoing conflicts.

Written for “Trump Approval Rating Hits Record Low” on 2026-10-19, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans left (beta estimate) Confidence high
Leaning: leans left for article 91933 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-10-19

Story

📰 Trump Approval Rating Hits Record Low
Politics · 3 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 33% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Trump’s approval rating hits record new low as midterms loom same event · 95%
The Independent · 0.86 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 9% hedged 2 of 22 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles report on President Trump's record-low approval rating based on a new poll, occurring at the same time near midterm elections.”
Ahead of US midterms, voters are frustrated with Trump, want change: Poll different event · 95%
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 20% hedged 3 of 15 📰 publisher trust 60
“The articles describe different polls with distinct findings on voter sentiment and approval ratings for Trump, not a single specific incident.”
Trump overload killing Republican midterm chances of victory different event · 85%
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this 🔴 14% hedged 3 of 22 📰 publisher trust 61
“The articles discuss Trump's low approval ratings and their impact on Republican chances in midterm elections, but they are not describing the same specific incident or occurrence.”
Inside Trump’s job approval crisis different event · 75%
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 3% hedged 1 of 30 📰 publisher trust 66
“The articles report on different polls with varying approval ratings and are published on different dates.”
Dems lead GOP in House vote choice as Trump's approval rating hits record low: Poll different event · 50%
ABC News (US)
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 2% hedged 2 of 86 📰 publisher trust 59
“While both articles report on low approval ratings for Trump and a disadvantageous position for Republicans, they cite different polls conducted at different times.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
6
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
33%
2 of 6 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
60/100
Al Jazeera's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-19 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Al Jazeera · 3449 article(s) · 2 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 2 correction(s)
2026-10-03
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2026-09-30
Indonesia suspends five officials over luxury apartments for inmates

Who wrote this

Al Jazeera Staff
631 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The same poll found Trump’s Republican Party also at a major disadvantage: when respondents were asked whether they would rather vote for a generic, unnamed Democrat or Republican, Democrats led by 12 points.
2026-10-19 · mixed framing · Trump approval hits record-low 31 percent, polls show Republican struggles
🔮 “This is an absolute mockery of the judicial system,” the CJP’s legal head, Ratna Singh, told reporters outside the court, adding that the party would challenge the order in a higher court.
2026-10-19 · assertive framing · Indian court extends detention of ‘Cockroach’ leaders
🔮 “Under this change, campaigns could use their opponents’ voice to send out a message that is, at best, disingenuous and, at worst, a blatant lie,” Schumer said on Monday.
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🔮 “The Houthis say they will continue to target those bases.
2026-10-19 · assertive framing · At least 18 killed in Houthi attack on military camp in Yemen’s Shabwa
🔮 But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose religious coalition is projected to lose its governing majority at the October 27 election, has been more vague in his language.
2026-10-19 · assertive framing · Israeli police arrest 10 after settler attacks on journalist, diplomats
🔮 Waiving sanctions on Russia Zelenskyy also said other US actions, such as signing a deal to import Russian diesel and waiving sanctions on Russia that had been slated to take effect this week, will hurt Ukraine.
2026-10-19 · assertive framing · Rubio says there was no US pause in intelligence sharing with Ukraine
🔮 They may burn for a shorter time than a forest fire, and while they are easier to contain, the speed at which they can spread in dry conditions can make them lethal.
2026-10-19 · assertive framing · How a grass fire at a Canadian military base killed four soldiers
🔮 “On Saturday in some major cities, you couldn’t look shopkeepers in the eye after hundreds of shops had been looted and tell them we hadn’t lost control,” Nunez said.
2026-10-19 · assertive framing · France’s Macron declines minister’s resignation after violent protests
🔮 On Sunday, Trump defended his Friday decision to put a hold on implementing new sanctions on Russia, saying he did not want to do anything that would “foolishly” drive Moscow “away from the bargaining table”.
2026-10-19 · assertive framing · Ukraine launches over 1,000 drones at Russia, setting oil facilities ablaze
🔮 says it will follow Israeli rule barring crew from some nations Bulgaria’s Ministry of Defence said an air force MiG-29 fighter jet escorted the plane to Sofia airport.
2026-10-19 · mixed framing · Flight from Israel makes emergency landing in Bulgaria after bomb threat
Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 631 articles by Al Jazeera Staff →

Topics

Americans Democrat Republican Party Reuters United States

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 6× Americans NORP · 2× 3US GPE · 1× Democrat NORP · 1× Democrats NORP · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Republican NORP · 1× Republican Party ORG · 1× Reuters ORG · 1× United States GPE · 1×

Narrative

Recommended Stories list of 3 items- list 1 of 3Majority in US say Trump prioritises personal wealth over all else: Poll - list 2 of 3US inflation rises before midterm elections, fuelling rate hike fears - list 3 of 3Ahead of US midterms, voters are frustrated with Trump, want change: Poll The percentage of Americans who disapprove of Trump has grown steadily in recent months, especially since the February 28 launch of the US-Israel war on Iran, which has driven up petrol and diesel prices and had knock-on effects across the economy.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-19
🔮 The same poll found Trump’s Republican Party also at a major disadvantage: when respondents were asked whether they would rather vote for a generic, unnamed Democrat or Republican, Democrats led by 12 points.
2026-10-19 · Al Jazeera
Trump approval hits record-low 31 percent, polls show Republican struggles · mixed framing

Claims (6 extracted, 2 hedged)

United States President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 31 percent – another record low in his political career, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. uncertain
rating → fall → poll
The same poll found Trump’s Republican Party also at a major disadvantage: when respondents were asked whether they would rather vote for a generic, unnamed Democrat or Republican, Democrats led by 12 points. asserted
Democrats → find → points
Recommended Stories list of 3 items- list 1 of 3Majority in US say Trump prioritises personal wealth over all else: Poll - list 2 of 3US inflation rises before midterm elections, fuelling rate hike fears - list 3 of 3Ahead of US midterms, voters are frustrated with Trump, want change: Poll The percentage of Americans who disapprove of Trump has grown steadily in recent months, especially since the February 28 launch of the US-Israel war on Iran, which has driven up petrol and diesel prices and had knock-on effects across the economy. asserted
which → say → economy
Several recent polls have documented the growing problems facing Trump and his party ahead of midterm elections, set for November 3, which could determine control of the House and Senate. uncertain
which → document → House
An NBC poll released Sunday found 71 percent of Americans said the country was on the “wrong track” and 55 percent would vote for the Democratic Party if an election were held that day. asserted
election → release → Party
A Washington Post/ABC/Ipsos poll, also released on Monday, found Trump had a record-low approval rating of 33 percent, with 7 out of 10 saying petrol or gasoline was becoming unaffordable. asserted
petrol → release → 10
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