White voters and men ditch Trump as ratings hit new low
President Donald Trump’s approval ratings have slipped to their lowest level on record, with newly-released polling suggesting that the drop-off in positive feeling about the current POTUS is now reaching voters who once formed the very backbone of his support.
A Reuters/Ipsos survey carried out this week shows a broad decline in Trump’s popularity across multiple groups. The sharpest falls are among men and white voters, both of whom have historically backed him in rather strong numbers and helped sustain him through previous political and personal turbulence.
With American men, approval has dropped to 37%, marking an all-new low. It’s a noticeable shift from earlier in the year, when support was far more stable and much less jittery.
White voters are now at 44% approval, which also represents a record low for Trump approval. For a group that has consistently delivered some of Trump’s strongest numbers, that change carries a pretty hefty weight and will likely cause concern at The White House.
Taken together, the figures suggest more than just a routine dip, pointing instead to a deeper erosion in support among voters who have typically been much less volatile in their views and far slower to turn.
The overall picture is equally daunting for the US Commander-in-Chief. His overall net approval now sits at minus-30%, the weakest position recorded during his time in office.
This decline isn’t just confined to one policy area either, with the poll showing Trump’s ratings falling on a whole range of subjects, such as immigration, foreign policy, the economy and the cost of living.
Cost of living pressures appear to be doing much of the heavy lifting here, with a lot of Americans reporting that they feel financially worse off than they did earlier on in the year.
A significant number of respondents are linking that strain directly to the ongoing war over in Iran, which has driven up fuel prices and added to wider economic uncertainty.
Reuters also reported that frustration over inflation and energy costs is now reshaping how many voters view Trump and his team, including among those who had previously supported a much tougher stance overseas.
Plenty of voters cite rising fuel costs, grocery prices and uncertainty linked to the situation in the Middle East as key reasons for their changing views. But it seems less about ideology and much more about what things cost.
The poll indicates that cost-of-living concerns have now completely overtaken issues such as immigration and crime. That marks a clear shift in what voters say matters most to them at the moment. The longer the situation in Iran continues without any real clear resolution, the more it appears to weigh on public opinion. And harm Trump’s ratings.
The White House has, of course, defended its strategy, maintaining that sustained military pressure is necessary to push Iran towards a ceasefire and bring the conflict to an end.
That argument, however, is landing in a climate where many voters are more focused on their own finances than on long-term geopolitical outcomes. After all, it’s a harder sell when the costs feel immediate and impactful.
The president is expected to ramp up messaging around economic resilience and national security in the coming days, in a bid to try and reassure voters and steady the approval ratings. But it’s unlikely to make too much difference to the numbers.
That leaves President Trump entering a more uncertain political phase than he’s been used to up until now.
However the pressure is building, not just from opponents but from within parts of his own traditional support base.