{"id":2553,"date":"2026-10-12T13:03:43","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T08:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2553"},"modified":"2026-10-12T13:03:43","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T08:03:43","slug":"trumps-unpopularity-threatens-republicans-ahead-of-midterms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2553","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s unpopularity threatens Republicans ahead of midterms"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

US President Donald Trump\u2019s approval ratings remain low weeks before the midterm elections, with voters expressing dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy, inflation and the conflict with Iran, according to a new Financial Times<\/em> (FT)<\/em> poll.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Only 25% of registered voters approve of Trump\u2019s handling of jobs and the economy, while roughly one-fifth back his performance on inflation, the nationwide survey conducted by the FT and research firm Focaldata found.<\/p>\n

More than two-thirds of respondents said the US economy was heading in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n

The findings come as Trump steps up his involvement in congressional campaigns and Republican lawmakers press him to address concerns over the rising cost of living.<\/p>\n

The US economy added just 29,000 jobs in September, well below economists\u2019 expectations, raising concerns about the strength of the labour market.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s overall approval rating stood at 34%, while 45% of registered voters said he was making it harder for Republican candidates to win in November.<\/p>\n

The poll found that voters preferred Democratic candidates over Republicans by more than five percentage points.<\/p>\n

The Cook Political Report has also shifted its ratings of 18 House races towards Democrats and projected that the party could gain between nine and 19 seats in the November elections.<\/p>\n

Voters also disagreed with Trump\u2019s approach to artificial intelligence and Iran. Around two-thirds favoured binding federal rules for AI companies and a more cautious pace of development, opposing the administration\u2019s emphasis on voluntary safeguards and rapid innovation.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s approval rating on Iran has fallen by more than seven percentage points since May, with fewer than one-quarter of registered voters approving of his handling of the conflict.<\/p>\n

Nearly two-thirds said the US should prioritise reaching an agreement as soon as possible rather than continuing the war until it secures more favourable terms.<\/p>\n

Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in late September as the conflict entered its eighth month.<\/p>\n

The war has contributed to higher US borrowing costs and petrol prices. Diesel prices, a key cost for industry and agriculture, reached a record $6.53 late last month, according to the US Energy Information Administration.<\/p>\n

Despite growing dissatisfaction with Trump, Republican voters appear largely committed to their party.<\/p>\n

Fewer than 70% of registered voters who backed Trump in 2024 now approve of his performance, down from 80% in May.<\/p>\n

However, 80% still intend to vote for the Republican candidate in their congressional district, a share that has remained broadly unchanged.<\/p>\n

The results suggest Republicans may face a challenge in retaining seats if dissatisfied Trump supporters and independent voters turn their frustration with the president into votes against the party.<\/p>\n

The online poll was conducted by Focaldata from October 2 to 4 among 2,275 registered voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US President Donald Trump\u2019s approval ratings remain low weeks before the midterm elections, with voters expressing dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy, inflation and the conflict with Iran, according to a new Financial Times (FT) poll. Only 25% of registered voters approve of Trump\u2019s handling of jobs and the economy, while roughly one-fifth back his performance on inflation, the nationwide survey conducted by the FT and research firm Focaldata found. More than two-thirds of respondents said the US economy was heading in the wrong direction. The findings come as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2553\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}