Just 32% of Americans approved of President Donald Trump's presidency in a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed Monday, Oct. 5. His rating stayed at the lowest point of his political career, while Hispanic voters turned sharply against his party. The figures show how support for those wielding federal power is shifting among voters who helped put Trump in office.
The poll found that 24% of Hispanic Americans approved of Trump's performance in the White House, the lowest share in either of his two presidential terms. Hispanic voters helped propel Trump to victory in the 2024 presidential contest, when he won nearly half of their vote, compared with roughly one-third in the 2020 election. Now, with the November 3 election approaching, the same group shows a much larger preference for Democrats.
The cost landing on voters
Cost of living ranked as the top issue for Americans deciding how to vote next month. The poll report said support for Trump had waned in recent months as Americans struggled with high inflation triggered by his decision to go to war with Iran. Consumer inflation spiked after gasoline and diesel prices surged following the war Trump launched in February. The poll links the president's decision to higher costs voters say matter most as they choose who should control Congress.
Among Hispanic registered voters, 52% planned to vote Democratic and 26% planned to vote Republican. That Democratic advantage was about twice the Republican share and the largest since Trump took office. The poll records an electoral response, not a grassroots or mutual-aid effort; it measures where registered voters say they'll cast their ballots.
Registered voters overall preferred Democrats over Republicans, 44% to 37%, less than a month before the election. Among independent voters, Democrats led 37% to 21%, while 28% remained undecided. The contest will determine control of both chambers of Congress during the last two years of Trump's current term. The ballot decides which party holds those seats; the poll offers no evidence that either party's control would reverse the economic pressures voters named.
A contest over Congress, not consent
Republicans braced for a difficult performance in the congressional elections. Many analysts had predicted Democrats would take a majority in the House of Representatives, while control of the Senate increasingly looked up for grabs. Those are forecasts, not results. The poll shows both parties competing for the same institutional power as voters weigh their choices.
Republicans' advantage among older Americans narrowed this year. Voters age 50 or older preferred Trump's party over the Democratic Party by 2 percentage points, 44% to 42%, compared with an 8-point Republican advantage in December. Older Americans have historically made up large shares of the midterm electorate. Among voters under age 50, Democrats led by 18 points.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll ran online nationwide and surveyed 4,506 U.S. adults. Its margin of error was about two percentage points. The numbers offer a snapshot of approval and stated voting preferences before the election; they don't turn a poll into a mandate. For now, the president's approval remains at a record low, and voters whose support helped carry him to victory are registering a marked preference for the opposition.