Warning sign for Trump: Significant growth in dissatisfaction among the Republican base.
According to Newsweek, new polls show deep dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump’s performance, not just among Democrats and independents, but increasingly among the Republican base.
According to data from the US-based Verasight Poll, Trump faces a paradox: while Republican voters remain his strongest base of support, they are increasingly skeptical of his leadership.
As this sentiment deepens in American society, we should expect enthusiasm for the 2026 midterm elections to decline, according to Newsweek.
Satisfaction has reached an all-time low
The results of the survey, conducted in September, show that only 28 percent of participants believe the United States is “on the right track,” while 60 percent say it is “on the wrong track.” Another 12 percent have no confidence in Trump’s leadership.
Newsweek noted that the results show a sharp decline in Trump’s approval rating compared to August, when 33 percent approved and 57 percent disapproved.
A Gallup poll also found that only 29 percent of Americans approve of the way things are going in the United States, down from 49 percent when he took office in January.
A GOP split
The Gallup data also shows the biggest decline in support among Republicans, with 76 percent approval of Trump in August falling to 68 percent in September. Meanwhile, independents’ approval ratings of Trump are at 23 percent, and Democrats’ approval ratings are at 1 percent, a steady pace.
The poll also found that the number of Republicans who disapprove of Trump rose from 29 percent in June to 51 percent in September. Among Republicans under 45, the number was 30 percent higher at 61 percent.
From Newsweek’s perspective, the poll’s results are especially concerning after the Sept. 10 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk appeared to have spooked Republicans and heightened doubts about the country’s direction.
A Quinnipiac University poll also found that 79 percent of respondents believe the United States is in a political crisis, with Democrats leading at 93 percent, followed by independents at 84 percent and Republicans at 60 percent, respectively.
The Gallup poll also points to another concern among the public: Americans’ sense of national priorities has shifted since the Charlie Kirk assassination, with concern about crime or violence as a major national problem rising from 3 percent in August to 8 percent in September, the highest in five years. Concern about national unity also rose from 5 percent to 10 percent, the highest since January 6, 2020, when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to try to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the 2022 presidential election.
A widening partisan divide
According to Gallup, the most concerned about rising crime rates are among Republicans, who have risen from 6 percent to 14 percent.
A YouGov poll also found that 59 percent of respondents think political violence is a very big problem, with Democrats at 58 percent, independents at 54 percent, and Republicans at a whopping 67 percent.
Pollster Matt McDermott, speaking to Newsweek, called the results “a real wake-up call for Trump,” adding, “Even within his own base, the Republicans, there is concern about the direction of the country, not just about the economy, but about something worse, which is political violence and instability. This is not what voters, even those who supported Trump, were expecting.”