President Donald Trump broke a wave of unwanted polling records across national surveys released within days of each other this week.

Those unwelcome milestones, from polls by Fox News, New York Times/Siena, YouGov/The Economist and AP/NORC, range from record-high disapproval to slipping base support and rock-bottom economic ratings.

Taken together, they point to a broad softening of support rather than a single outlier, with negative ratings spanning overall job approval, issue-specific handling and key voter groups.

Five Unwanted Polling Records

• Disapproval hits record highs in both Fox News and New York Times/Siena polling
• Net approval drops to a new low among Republicans in Fox News data
• Republican dissatisfaction with Trump’s handling of the economy reaches a new high in AP/NORC survey
• Millennials give Trump the weakest rating of his second term in YouGov/Economist poll
• Economic and inflation ratings fall to new lows, with widening negative net scores

A cluster of national surveys released between May 18 and May 20, conducted between May 11 and May 18, found Trump hitting multiple new approval lows and disapproval highs across key metrics.

These shifts come as Republicans look ahead to the 2026 midterms, where party unity and economic messaging are central.

Republican candidates, party strategists, and the White House face growing pressure as support softens among core voters and key demographics.

Disapproval Reaches New Highs

A New York Times/Siena College poll found Trump’s disapproval rating at 59 percent, the highest recorded in that survey.

The poll was conducted from May 11 to May 15, 2026, among 1,507 registered voters using live telephone interviews in English and Spanish, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

A Fox News poll conducted from May 15 to May 18, 2026, shows a similar pattern.

That survey, carried out by Beacon Research, a Democratic-aligned firm, and Shaw & Company Research, a Republican-aligned firm, interviewed 1,002 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file.

Respondents completed the survey via live phone interviews on landlines (109) and cellphones (635) or online after receiving a text (258). It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

In that poll, 61 percent disapproved of Trump’s performance, including 48 percent who said they strongly disapprove, while 39 percent approved overall.

This was also the highest disapproval rating figure ever recorded in this polling series, according to Fox News.

Republican Support Shows Signs of Slippage

The same Fox News poll also found Trump’s approval among Republicans falling to its lowest level of his second term.

This movement within his own party stands out because Republican backing has typically remained more stable than that of independents or Democrats.

“Despite consistently strong GOP support, the president’s numbers are leaking a bit,” said Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News Poll with Democrat Chris Anderson. “Make no mistake; it’s all about affordability. Independents jumped ship in 2025, and now non-MAGA Republicans and other core constituencies are wavering.”

Economic Ratings Deteriorate Further

The Fox News poll also shows a sharp shift on the economy and inflation.

Disapproval of Trump’s handling of the economy has risen from 56 percent a year ago to 66 percent last month and now 71 percent—the highest level in this polling series.

On inflation, just 24 percent approve of Trump’s performance, down from 35 percent in January.

A slim majority of Republicans, 51 percent, now disapprove on inflation, compared with far higher levels among independents (85 percent) and Democrats (96 percent).

Net approval scores in the same survey show new lows on key issues, including minus 52 on inflation and minus 42 on the economy, both record lows in this poll series.

Millennials Turn More Negative

A YouGov/The Economist poll conducted between May 15 and May 18, 2026, among 1,549 U.S. adults found Trump’s approval rating among millennials dropping to a new second-term low. The survey has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.

Overall, the poll put Trump’s approval rating at 37 percent, with 57 percent disapproving. Among those aged 30 to 44, his approval stood at 28 percent, compared with 62 percent disapproval—the first time in his second term that his approval with that group has dropped below 29 percent.

That marks a clear dip from the pollster’s previous survey conducted May 9 to May 11, 2026, also among 1,549 U.S. adults, where Trump’s approval among 30‑ to 44‑year‑olds was 33 percent, with 60 percent disapproval, and a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

While the sample covers all adults rather than only registered voters, the trend points to continued erosion among younger voters, a group that has historically leaned against Trump but is now showing further slippage.

Republican Unease Grows on the Economy

An AP/NORC poll conducted from May 14 to May 18, 2026, surveyed 1,117 adults and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

It found that 37 percent of Republicans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, the highest recorded level of dissatisfaction within that group.

The same poll also showed 30 percent of Republicans disapproving of Trump’s handling of the Iran war, nearly three months into the conflict.

Falling Approval Raises Stakes for Republicans in Midterms

Trump’s standing is likely to be a central factor in the 2026 midterms, which often act as a referendum on the sitting president. Historically, the party in the White House tends to lose ground, sometimes heavily.

Recent cycles underline that pattern. Democrats flipped 41 House seats in 2018 during Trump’s first term, while Republicans gained nine seats in 2022 under Joe Biden. Earlier, Republicans picked up 62 seats in Barack Obama’s first midterm in 2010 after winning the national House vote by a wide margin.

If Trump’s approval ratings remain weak, it could increase the risk of similar losses for Republicans this November.

White House Response

White House officials pushed back on the polling, framing the numbers as a temporary snapshot rather than a long-term trend.

Spokesman Kush Desai said the U.S. economy has been “resilient” under Trump and added that “as this agenda continues taking effect, and as Congress passes more of the President’s healthcare and housing affordability agenda, the best is yet to come in the second Trump term.”

In a separate statement, spokesman Davis Ingle pointed to the 2024 election result, saying “the ultimate poll was November 5th 2024 when nearly 80 million Americans overwhelmingly elected President Trump to deliver on his popular and commonsense agenda.”

He added that the administration is “working tirelessly to create jobs, cool inflation, increase housing affordability, and more,” and argued that progress made so far is “just the beginning as his agenda continues taking effect.”