Trump’s Approval Down in July

Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, in 1997. Photograph: Davidoff Studios Photography/Getty Images

The Buzz’s National Dashboard has tracked President Trump’s approval since his Inauguration, January 20. His rating started positive but went negative on March 14 in the RCP average. After the Liberation Day tariff announcement, the gap between his positive and negative performance increased 7 points by late April. President Trump then recovered and was only 3 points down at the end of May. But during June and July, the gap doubled from 3 points to 6. And most recent polls have him in negative territory by 10 or more points. (Gallup 37% approve/59% disapprove/22% gap)

His recent poor rating appears primarily caused by the public’s negative reviews of his performance on inflation, deportation, and Jeffrey Epstein. Americans are still very concerned about inflation. Trump’s economic conduct is rated a minus 13 points (RCP). Gallup reports 65 percent don’t approve of how he’s handling the budget. Deportation was positive for him through April but the news over the last six weeks has been about the violence and controversy associated with the aggressive deportation strategy. Today, more people disapprove of deportation actions than approve. Now, the Epstein scandal and associated conspiracy theories have become front page news and are damaging his approval. (Emerson poll 7-25: 51% disapprove Trump’s handling of Epstein files, 19% approve).