President Trump is now facing the lowest approval spread of any modern president at the six-month mark. According to the latest Economist/YouGov poll released July 11, his approval rating stands at 42% with a disapproval rating of 54%. That puts him 12 points underwater. The same margin was recorded in the Civiqs poll on July 10. Gallup’s June tracking showed a similar spread, with 40% approval and 57% disapproval. These numbers are not just soft. They are historically rare.
The last time Trump hit this level was in 2017, six months into his first term. He is now repeating that pattern in his second term. No other president since Kennedy has posted a double-digit net negative rating by July 4 of their first year. The historical average sits near 52% approval. Trump is trailing that by more than 10 points.
The polling drop comes after the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill on July 4. The legislation slashed Medicaid, trimmed SNAP, and extended the 2017 tax cuts. It also triggered a wave of protests and lawsuits. The bill’s impact on working-class families and entitlement programs is still being assessed, but early sentiment is sour. Inflation remains the top concern for 42% of Americans, followed by tariffs at 22%. The NPR/PBS News/Marist poll from July 7 shows 39% of respondents are very concerned about the personal financial impact of tariffs. That’s a sharp increase from May.
Trump’s approval is holding in Florida and Wyoming, where Morning Consult shows net positives of 53% and 69% respectively. But in swing states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, his numbers are sliding. In Pennsylvania, only 46% approve while 51% disapprove. In Michigan, it’s 47% approval and 50% disapproval. These are the states that decide elections.
The White House has not commented on the polling. Trump’s campaign team says internal numbers are stronger, but no data has been released. The next major test will be the July 29 earnings reports and the August jobs numbers. If economic sentiment continues to sour, the approval spread could widen further.
Sources:
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/2025/07/05/trumps-current-approval-rating/84461930007/
