Photo: Getty Images
President Donald Trump's net approval rating has reportedly seen a minimal shift from his record low, polling expert Eli McKown-Dawson wrote in the latest edition of Nate Silver's Silver Bulletin blog published on Wednesday (February 25).
"Trump’s net approval rating in the Silver Bulletin average is down to -14.9, only 0.1 points above its second term low. And under the hood, some of the numbers look even more bearish for Trump than that topline would imply," McKown-Dawson wrote. "Most Americans strongly approve or disapprove of the job Trump is doing, while comparatively fewer only somewhat approve or disapprove. But since we started tracking these numbers back in May, nearly all of the decline in his popularity has come from these “strong” groups. The share of Americans who strongly approve of Trump has dropped from 34 percent when he was inaugurated to just 24 percent today, while the share who strongly disapprove has risen from 31 percent to 45 percent. In comparison, when you draw lines through Trump’s weak job approval and disapproval numbers, they’re essentially flat."
McKown-Dawson had previously reported that Trump's approval rating dropped to -15.0, matching the lowest margin of his second of two nonconsecutive terms in office on February 15 and that he had a new record for voters who strongly disapprove his job performance at 46% one week prior. The president's approval rating was reported to be his lowest among independent voters, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.
An estimated 26% of independent voters approve of Trump's job performance during his second term in office, which is a -15% net decrease from the 41% reported in February 2025, just weeks after he took office. The president is reported to have seen a net percentage decrease in all categories over the past year, which includes a drop from a 48% approval among all adults in February 2025 to 36% (-12%) in February 2026; a decrease from 54% to 40% among men (-14%); a decrease of 42% to 33% (-9%) among women; and even a decrease of 90% to 82% (-8%) among Republicans.