Trump’s approval rating hits record high, Fox News poll finds

Unhappy with the economy. Pain with prices. I’m not sure about the Trump administration’s policies. This adds to strong disapproval among voters loyal to the president.

Here are six takeaways from Fox News’ latest national investigation.

— Some 76% of voters have a negative view of the economy. That’s worse than the 67% who thought this way in July and the 70% who said the same thing at the end of former President Biden’s term.

— Many, overall and among Republicans, say their costs for groceries, utilities, health care and housing have increased this year.

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— Voters accuse the president. About twice as many people say President Donald Trump, rather than Biden, is responsible for the current economy. And three times as many say Trump’s economic policies have harmed them (they said the same thing about Biden’s last year). Additionally, approval of Trump’s handling of the economy has reached a new low, and disapproval of his overall job performance has reached record levels among core supporters.

— After the government shutdown, both the Republican Party and Democratic Party have lower favorable ratings, and about 6 in 10 people say the president and lawmakers on both sides don’t care about people like them.

— Voters think Republicans have a better plan on border security, immigration and crime, while Democrats are seen as better on affordability, wages, health care and climate.

— Opinions are divided on Trump’s peace deals aimed at making the world safer and the administration’s strategy to combat suspected drug traffickers.

Here are the numbers behind these results.

Trump’s job performance has drawn high-level disapproval among men, white voters and those without college degrees.

Eighty-six percent of Republicans approve, up from 92% in March.

Among all voters, 41% approve of the job Trump is doing, while 58% disapprove. His ratings have only been lower once: during his first term, from 38 to 57 percent in October 2017. Two months ago, it was 46 to 54 percent.

For comparison, Biden’s ratings were a bit better at the same point in his presidency: 44% approval and 54% disapproval in November 2021.

Forty percent of voters rate their personal finances as excellent/good, while 60 percent rate them as only fair/poor, roughly in line with where they were a year ago. Ratings are particularly bad (about 70% negative) among non-college voters, Hispanics, blacks, independents and those under 45. For those with household income below $50,000, 79% rate their finances negatively..

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When it comes to the national economy versus personal finances, the assessments are also negative. Most say conditions are only fair/poor (76%), and fewer than one in five think inflation is completely/mostly under control (18%).

Compared to last year, voters say the costs of utilities (78%), health care (67%), housing (66%) and gasoline (54%) have increased. And 85% of them have seen their grocery prices increase this year, including 60% who say costs have increased “a lot.” The majority of Republicans agree with the majority of Democrats and independents that costs have increased for each of these products except gas.

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At the end of Biden’s term, voters said by a wide 30-point majority that his economic policies had done more to harm than help their families, driven by three-quarters of Republicans saying they had been wronged. The new survey shows nearly identical results, as voters say by a 31-point margin that Trump’s economic policies have hurt rather than helped them, driven by three-quarters of Democrats saying they have been harmed. In December 2018, during his first term, only 21% of respondents said they were hurt by Trump’s policies, including only a third of Democrats.

By a nearly 2-to-1 margin, voters believe Trump is more responsible for the current economy than Biden (62% to 32%). Unsurprisingly, there is a significant partisan gap, as Democrats are nearly 40 percentage points more likely than Republicans to blame Trump. Somewhat surprisingly, 42% of Republicans blame him, while a majority of 53% say Biden is responsible. Among independents, 62% say Trump and 29% Biden.

A larger share thinks Republicans have a better plan to secure the border, combat illegal immigrants, reduce crime and reduce the federal budget deficit. Democrats are favored for tackling climate change, lowering the cost of health care, raising wages and making things more affordable. The parties are roughly equal on the issue of job creation.

Congressional Democrats said the shutdown was intended to expand Obamacare subsidies. The 2010 health law remains popular since 54% have a favorable opinion of it. Although much of that comes from the fact that nearly 9 in 10 Democrats view him positively. Not only do voters think Democrats have a better plan for lowering health care costs, but Trump received his lowest approval on the health care issue.

“The situation is not complicated,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who is participating in the Fox News poll with Democrat Chris Anderson. “People are struggling to afford basic necessities and are blaming those responsible. What’s interesting is seeing Democrats gain politically from a problem they arguably caused – and which will crush them in 2024. But that’s politics.”

While many families say the government shutdown caused them severe (10%) or moderate (35%) hardship, more than half say it was not a hardship at all (54%).

The shutdown was not a political victory for anyone. Nearly two-thirds disapprove of how Trump (62%), congressional Republicans (63%) and congressional Democrats (64%) handled the situation.

A record 39% have a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party, up from 42% in July. Another 39% have a positive view of the Republican Party, up from 44% this summer. For Trump, it’s 40% positive, compared to 43% in September and 50% in January.

But it was Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer whose ratings deteriorated the most. A record level of 22% view him favorably compared to 54% unfavorably, for a net rating of minus-32 points. His grades were down 16 points in January. Among Democrats, positive views of Schumer fell from 51% in January to 38% today.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ overall ratings were less affected (minus-2 to minus-10), as were those of House Speaker Mike Johnson (minus-9 to minus-15) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (minus-10 to minus-12). Many are unable to rate Thune (54%), Jeffries (38%) and Johnson (31%).

Voters also think their political leaders don’t care about people like them, with about 6 in 10 saying Democrats (59%) and Republicans (65%) in Congress and Trump (63%) don’t care.

Trump’s foreign policy assessments are understated: 43% approve, while 55% disapprove. Yet opinions are more evenly divided on whether his recent peace deals will make the world more or less safe (37% each), with a quarter saying it won’t make much difference. And 49% favor the U.S. military using lethal force against suspected drug-trafficking boats departing from Venezuela, while 47% oppose such efforts.

The president receives his highest marks on border security (53% approval). Nearly half approve of his handling of immigration (46%), while a new low approve of him on the economy (38%), and about a third approve on tariffs (35%) and health care (34%).

Poll-rotten

The electorate believes that the various branches of government are not meeting their constitutional obligations. Two-thirds worry that Congress (64%) and the Supreme Court (63%) are not putting in place the checks and balances they should and are giving too much of their constitutional authority to the president. At the same time, about half (47%) worry that the judiciary will obstruct Trump’s constitutional authority to carry out his agenda.

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Conducted November 14-17, 2025, led by Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News investigation includes interviews with a sample of 1,005 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (104) and cell phones (646) or completed the survey online after receiving a text message (255). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, the wording and order of questions can influence the results. Weights are typically applied to the age, race, education, and region variables to ensure that demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing target weights include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data.

Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.