A new national poll from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, released Aug. 31, 2026, finds President Trump’s job approval at 32%, with 64% of respondents disapproving — including 54% who say they disapprove “strongly.” The UMass Amherst Poll surveyed 1,000 people nationally, fielded online Aug. 21-26, 2026, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
The result is the lowest reading of Trump’s second term in the UMass Poll’s own series — just one point below the poll’s prior reading from March 2026, when approval stood at 33% and disapproval at 62%. It continues a longer slide the poll has tracked through Trump’s second term: net approval — the share approving minus the share disapproving — was -20 in July 2025, -29 in March 2026, and is now -32.
Key facts
- Approval: 32% approve, 64% disapprove (54% “strongly”)
- Poll: UMass Amherst Poll, conducted with YouGov, 1,000 respondents nationally
- Fielded: Aug. 21-26, 2026; released Aug. 31, 2026
- Margin of error: plus or minus 3.5 percentage points
- Context: Lowest approval of Trump’s second term in this poll’s series, down from 33%/62% in March 2026
- Top issues cited: the Iran war (68% disapprove) and inflation/cost of living (75% disapprove)
How approval has changed over time
- April 2025: Republican approval at 89%; 93% of 2024 Trump voters said they’d vote for him again
- July 2025: Net approval (approve minus disapprove) at -20
- March 2026: UMass Poll put approval at 33%, disapproval at 62% (net -29) — the previous low of Trump’s second term
- Aug. 21-26, 2026: The new UMass Amherst Poll was fielded online, surveying 1,000 people nationally
- Aug. 31, 2026: Results released — approval at 32%, disapproval at 64% (net -32), the lowest reading of Trump’s second term in this poll’s series
How the poll was conducted
The UMass Amherst Poll is directed by Nteta, a professor of political science at UMass Amherst, with Rhodes and Theodoridis, both political science professors, serving as co-directors. It’s conducted in partnership with YouGov, which fields the survey online and matches respondents to a nationally representative sample by gender, age, race and education.
Other polls show a similar decline
Other national polls released around the same time in late August 2026 — including surveys from Reuters/Ipsos, YouGov/Economist, Morning Consult and Quantus Insights — also showed declining Trump approval, with net approval readings ranging roughly from -14 to -32 points by pollster.
What the pollsters say is behind the numbers
In their own analysis of the results, the poll’s director, Tatishe Nteta, and co-director Jesse Rhodes pointed to widespread disapproval of three issues:
- Iran war: 68% disapprove of Trump’s handling of the war with Iran (about 25% approve)
- Inflation and cost of living: 75% disapprove (about 22% approve)
- Jobs: 63% disapprove
The Iran war numbers stood out to Rhodes in particular: 80% of respondents told the poll they believe the war has pushed up the price of gas and groceries, a finding he called “a political disaster” for the administration. He also said Trump’s unpopularity “is largely a problem of his own making.” Nteta framed the numbers as a warning, saying “the clock is ticking for President Trump and the Republican Party to offer solutions to the nation’s most pressing problems.” Looking across the poll’s full run of results, co-director Alexander Theodoridis described the pattern as showing “clear, consistent signs of an erosion trend.”
Support has slipped even among Republicans and past Trump voters
Approval among Republicans has fallen to 75%, a reported 14-point decline from 89% in April 2025; other summaries describe the 14-point decline as dating to the March 2026 UMass wave.
Among people who voted for Trump in 2024, 84% say they would vote for him again if the election were held today — down from 93% who said the same in April 2025. About 16% of 2024 Trump voters say they would not vote for him again:
- About 2% say they’d back Kamala Harris instead
- 7% say they’d support a third-party candidate
- 7% say they would not vote at all
On immigration, an issue that had been considered one of Trump’s stronger areas, 59% of respondents now say he isn’t handling it well, against about 37% who say he is.
The full breakdown
Approval splits between enthusiasm and lukewarm support, and the same split shows up on the disapproval side:
- Strongly approve: 14%
- Somewhat approve: 18%
- Strongly disapprove: 54%
- Somewhat disapprove: 10%
- Not sure: 3%
Those five figures, as reported by the poll, add up to 99% — one point short of 100%.