2018 US Politics - President Trump’s Approval Rates Currently Stand at 39% Amongst all Americans (October 10)

This week’s Reuters/Ipsos generic congressional ballot shows that half of all likely voters say they would vote for the Democratic candidate (50%) while about two-fifths say they would vote for the Republican candidate (38%) – a 12-point margin. There is also a 7-point difference in the amount of Democrat likely voters (94%) and Republican likely voters (87%) who say they would vote for the candidate in their own party.

Trump’s approval rates currently stand at 39% amongst all Americans and 42% amongst all likely voters. The partisan split in his support is significant, with only 7% of Democrat likely voters versus 85% of Republican likely voters who approve. When it comes to specific issues, Americans are the most satisfied with Trump’s handling of employment and jobs (49%), the US economy (46%), and dealing with ISIS/ISIL (44%).

While the majority of likely voters say that they approve of the way their Congressperson is handling their job as Representative (51%), a much smaller portion say they approve of the way Congress as a whole is handling its job (24%). This is also true for Democrat likely voters (48% for their Congressperson vs. 13% for Congress) and Republican likely voters (61% for their Congressperson vs. 39% for Congress).

When asked about the overall direction of the country, most Americans (56%) and likely voters (58%) report that they believe it is off on the wrong track. Opinions differ greatly across party lines as most Democrat likely voters believe it is off on the wrong track (87%), while most Republican likely voters believe it is heading in the right direction (74%).

These are findings from an Ipsos poll conducted for Thomson Reuters between October 3-9, 2018. For the survey, a sample of 3,708 Americans, including 2,012 likely voters, 902 likely voter Democrats, 794 likely voter Republicans, and 264 likely voter Independents ages 18+ were interviewed online.