A new national survey from YouGov in partnership with The Economist shows intensity breaking decisively against President Donald Trump seven months into his second term. Fielded Aug. 15–18 among a representative sample of U.S. adult citizens, the poll finds 47% of Americans strongly disapprove of Trump’s job performance, compared with 23% who strongly approve—a two-to-one gap and a new high for strong disapproval in his second term. Overall, 40% approve and 56% disapprove, the weakest topline reading in this polling series since Trump returned to office in January. The pollsters also note his net approval (approve minus disapprove) stands at –16, another second-term low in this series.
The survey underscores how hardened the public’s views have become, not just about Trump but about presidential performance in general. According to YouGov’s breakdown of answer choices, roughly seven in ten Americans now place themselves at one of the two poles—either “strongly approve” or “strongly disapprove”—while only about a quarter occupy the softer “somewhat” categories. In other words, fewer Americans are on the fence, and a solid majority feel strongly either for or against the president. The imbalance in intensity is striking: YouGov reports that 83% of Democrats say they strongly disapprove of Trump, while just over half of Republicans—54%—say they strongly approve. That gap suggests opposition is more fervent than support at the moment, even as partisan approval remains mirror-image.
Independents, the group that often determines national mood and midterm momentum, are especially sour. In the same YouGov/Economist wave, Americans who don’t lean toward either party give Trump his worst second-term reading to date: 68% disapprove and 20% approve, a net of –49 among these non-leaners. That represents not just routine grumbling but a level of discontent that—if sustained—could make governing and coalition-building more difficult heading into the 2026 midterm cycle.
The latest figures also represent a notable turn since the start of the year. In January, when Trump’s second term began, Americans with strong views were closer to parity: 36% strongly disapproved and 34% strongly approved. Since then, the share strongly disapproving has climbed 11 points, while strong approval has fallen 11 points. The result is an expanding intensity gap—more Americans feel strongly negative about Trump today than did in the winter, and fewer feel strongly positive. That shift is visible not only among Democrats and independents, but even within the GOP’s “very conservative” base: YouGov notes that the percentage of Republicans who “strongly approve” has pulled back from early-term highs.
Issue-level ratings help explain some of the movement. On jobs and the economy—a traditional pillar of Trump’s political brand—more Americans disapprove than approve of his handling, 53% to 39%. YouGov describes that as a –14 net on the economy, the lowest of his second term and worse than at any point during his first term. If voters’ economic assessments are becoming both more negative and more entrenched, that tends to weigh down overall approval, because pocketbook evaluations cut across partisan lines more readily than other issues.
While a single poll provides only a snapshot, the broader polling landscape points in the same way. Gallup’s late-July reading put Trump at 37% approval—the low of his second term to that point—and emphasized a steep slide among independents. Since January, Gallup found, independent approval fell 17 points to 29%, matching Trump’s poorest standing with that group across either term. Gallup also reported weak marks across a range of issues, with no more than 36% of independents approving of his performance on any of eight domestic and foreign policy topics.
Polling averages, which smooth out the noise of individual surveys, echo the general picture. Nate Silver’s continuously updated average shows Trump holding in the mid-40s on approval but remaining underwater nationally. As of Aug. 25, the Silver Bulletin tracker puts him at 44.1% approve and 52.4% disapprove, slightly better than the latest YouGov wave but still negative overall. The gap between a mid-40s approval average and a 56% disapproval result in a specific poll isn’t unusual; it reflects differences in methodology, samples, and timing across pollsters. But the direction of travel—especially the rise in strong disapproval—has been consistent this summer.
Under the surface, the YouGov/Economist questionnaire touches on other dynamics likely shaping public opinion. On foreign policy, for example, the same survey asked about Trump’s recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the war in Ukraine. Americans were divided: 41% approved of the meeting and 38% disapproved, but only about a third said it made at least “a little” progress toward ending the war. Trump’s handling of the Russia-Ukraine conflict draws 35% approval and 45% disapproval overall. That pattern—tepid marks on a high-salience foreign-policy issue—can reinforce broader discontent, especially among independents who have grown skeptical of the administration’s international approach.
The poll also probed attitudes toward the administration’s actions related to higher education, including questions about asking universities to pay large federal fines. A 57% majority strongly or somewhat disapproved of that approach, versus 31% who approved. While opinions on higher-ed governance don’t typically drive vote choice directly, they can contribute to an overall narrative about a president’s priorities and governing style, particularly among college-educated voters and younger Americans. As with the economy and Ukraine, these findings suggest that small negatives across multiple issue areas are accumulating.
Why this matters for readers looking ahead: in American politics, intensity often correlates with civic engagement. A larger pool of strong disapprovers can translate into advantages for the opposition in small-dollar fundraising, volunteer energy, and turnout—even if topline approval remains in the mid-40s. Conversely, a shrinking pool of strong approvers can signal softer enthusiasm among a president’s base. That doesn’t predetermine electoral outcomes, but it affects the ground game, including who shows up for special elections, how hard volunteers work in competitive House districts, and whether swing-state infrastructure hums or stalls. Put differently: intensity is the fuel in the engine, and right now Democrats appear to have more of it. (YouGov’s partisan intensity split—83% of Democrats “strongly disapprove” versus 54% of Republicans “strongly approve”—captures that imbalance.)
There are caveats. First, approval isn’t destiny: presidents can see rebounds if economic indicators improve, major legislation passes, or international crises turn in their favor. Second, individual surveys have margins of error and house effects. The YouGov/Economist poll’s overall margin of error is approximately ±3.5 percentage points, and its online, opt-in panel is weighted to match national benchmarks; other pollsters using different sampling frames may produce slightly different results. That’s why trendlines and averages are more informative than any one data point. Third, political environments can shift quickly—especially in a news cycle that has whiplashed between foreign-policy developments, culture-war fights, and debates over economic policy and tariffs throughout 2025.
Still, several themes to watch emerge from the data. One is independents’ continued drift: both Gallup and YouGov show deterioration among non-aligned voters, and restoring even a portion of that support could meaningfully lift Trump’s overall standing. Another is the economy: perceptions there carry outsized weight. If inflation readings stabilize and wage gains outpace price increases, approval could tick up; if not, the negative net on economic handling may persist. A third is foreign policy: Americans remain broadly supportive of Ukraine not ceding territory in the end state of the war, yet they’re skeptical that current diplomacy will deliver that outcome; misalignment between expectations and results tends to depress presidential ratings.
For readers asking, “What’s next?” the practical answer is to watch the weekly cadence of reputable polling, especially the combination of YouGov/Economist, Gallup’s monthly read, and well-constructed averages. If the intensity gap (strong disapprove minus strong approve) narrows over the next few waves, that would suggest the White House has found traction on pocketbook issues or foreign policy. If it widens further, expect Democrats to lean harder into turnout and down-ballot recruitment advantages ahead of the 2026 map. For Republicans, the key metric won’t only be overall approval but whether strong approval among their own voters rebounds from its summer lull—because that’s the group most likely to volunteer and donate at scale.
Methodology, at a glance: The YouGov/Economist survey was conducted Aug. 15–18, 2025, among 1,568 U.S. adult citizens selected from YouGov’s online panel, with sampling stratified by gender, age, race, education, region, and voter registration. Results were weighted on demographics, past vote, turnout, baseline party ID, and current registration to approximate national benchmarks. The reported margin of error is ~±3.5 percentage points for the overall sample. Full toplines and crosstabs are available on YouGov’s site. As always, methodological differences across pollsters—live-caller versus online, registered voters versus all adults, question wording—help explain variations from one poll to the next.
Bottom line: This latest wave doesn’t just show Trump underwater—it shows the public’s strong reactions tilting more negative, with fewer Americans giving him intensely positive marks than at the start of his second term. Gallup’s July reading, YouGov’s August update, and Nate Silver’s daily average all point to the same general condition: a president sitting in the mid-40s on approval overall but facing a rising wall of strong disapproval that could shape activism, fundraising, and turnout in the months ahead. Whether that wall holds—or starts to crack—will likely hinge on economic momentum and whether independents can be coaxed back toward a neutral verdict.
