May 20, 2026
Thirty-seven percent of the public approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president, while 62% disapprove. This remains in line with prior months.
Immigration remains Trump’s strongest issue, overall and among Republicans. Approval of his handling of immigration rose slightly, from 40% to 45%, and now sits at its highest mark this year.
Views of his handling of the economy remain slightly lower than the start of his second term and much lower than his first term. And approval of Trump’s handling of the economy continues to decline among Republicans. At the start of Trump’s second term, 78% of Republicans approved of his handling of the economy, and that’s down to 63%.
Overall approval of Trump’s handling of Iran specifically and foreign policy generally have remained relatively consistent.
Republicans continue to be more likely than Democrats or independents to approve of Trump’s handling of the presidency, the economy, immigration, Iran, and foreign policy.
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The nationwide poll was conducted May 14-18, 2026 using the AmeriSpeak® Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,117 adults. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 3.8 percentage points.
Suggested Citation: AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. “Less than 4 in 10 approve of how Trump is handling his presidency.” (May 2026). https://apnorc.org/projects/trump-approval-on-the-economy-remains-low/
