What is US President Donald Trump’s job approval rating as of September 21, 2026?
To put the conclusion first, Trump’s job approval rating in recent US national polls is generally in the high 30s. Although there are differences depending on the polling organization and methodology, recent major polls repeatedly show results around 35 to 40%.
Therefore, if one were to express Trump’s current approval rating as a single number, viewing it as around 37 to 39% generally aligns with multiple recent surveys.
However, because the target audience and survey period differ for each poll, it is not appropriate to explain current overall US public opinion using a single number from a specific institution.
What is Trump’s Latest Job Approval Rating?
Comparing major national polls published up through mid-September 2026 reveals the following:
Polling Agency | Survey Period | Approve | Disapprove Reuters/Ipsos | Sept 11–14 | 35% | 62% CBS News/YouGov | Sept 8–11 | 39% | 61% Marquette Law School | Sept 2–9 | 37% | 63% Economist/YouGov | Sept 4–8 | 37% | 61%
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted among 1,143 US adults, and Trump’s job approval rating was 35%. This figure represented a 2 percentage point increase from the 33% recorded in the previous survey.
In the CBS News/YouGov poll, 39% approved of Trump’s job performance and 61% disapproved.
The Marquette Law School poll yielded an approval rating of 37% and a disapproval rating of 63%.
The Economist/YouGov poll also showed similar results, with 37% approving and 61% disapproving.
Although the polling organizations are different, it is notable that recent surveys all converge within a similar range.
So, Can We View Trump’s Current Approval Rating as 37%?
As a number to describe the general current situation, one can think of around 37 to 39%.
However, this should not be considered an official single approval rating.
A presidential approval rating does not exist as a single official number like a stock price; rather, it represents individual survey results conducted by various polling organizations.
For example, even for surveys conducted during the same period, results can vary depending on whether the target sample consists of all US adults, registered voters, or likely voters.
The wording of questions, survey methodology, survey duration, and sample composition also exert an influence.
That is why, when explaining Trump’s current approval rating, rather than stating:
“Trump’s current approval rating is exactly 37%.”
It is more accurate to express it as:
“In major national polls in mid-September 2026, Trump’s job approval rating generally appears in the high 30s.”
How Has Trump’s Approval Rating Changed Recently?
Compared to the beginning of Trump’s second presidential term, his recent approval ratings have declined.
In the Marquette Law School poll, Trump’s job approval rating started at 48% in early 2025.
Afterward, it recorded 42% in January 2026, 39% in April, 38% in May and June, 40% in July, and fell to 37% in the September 2026 survey.
In other words, rather than a sudden plunge all at once, an overall gradual downward trend appeared.
Timeframe | Marquette Poll Approval Rating Early 2025 | 48% January 2026 | 42% April 2026 | 39% May 2026 | 38% June 2026 | 38% July 2026 | 40% September 2026 | 37%
Looking solely at these data, his current approval rating has decreased by more than 10 percentage points compared to the beginning of Trump’s second term.
In Which Areas Are Evaluations Particularly Low?
Along with overall job performance evaluation, a notable aspect in recent polls is the evaluation regarding the economy and prices.
In the September 2026 Marquette Law School poll, Trump’s approval ratings by issue area appeared as follows:
Issue Area | Approval Rating Border Security | 49% Immigration | 43% Foreign Policy | 34% Tariffs | 30% Economy | 28% War with Iran | 26% Gasoline Prices | 20% Inflation / Cost of Living | 19%
Compared to the overall job approval rating of 37%, the differences across issue areas are quite substantial.
In particular, the approval rating regarding inflation and the cost of living appeared low at 19%.
The approval rating regarding gasoline prices also remained at just 20%.
On the other hand, regarding border security and immigration issues, the figures were 49% and 43% respectively, which are higher than the overall job approval rating.
Therefore, current American evaluations of Trump do not appear uniform across all policy areas, but rather show a significant gap between immigration/border issues and economy/price issues.
How Did It Appear in the Reuters/Ipsos Poll?
In the Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted September 11–14, 2026, Trump’s job approval rating was 35% and his disapproval rating was 62%.
This represents a slight increase to 35% after having dropped to 33% in the previous survey.
This poll was conducted among 1,143 US adults, with the sample structured to be nationally representative.
Therefore, while this corresponds to a fairly low level among recent surveys, there is no need to fixedly view Trump’s current approval rating as unconditionally 35%.
This is because the CBS News/YouGov poll from the same period yielded 39%.
At 39% in CBS News/YouGov
In the September 8–11 CBS News/YouGov poll, Trump’s job approval rating was 39% and his disapproval rating was 61%.
The approval rating is 4 percentage points higher than Reuters/Ipsos.
However, the two surveys do not point in completely different directions.
Both Reuters/Ipsos at 35% and CBS/YouGov at 39% are similar in that Trump’s approval rating sits in the high 30s.
As it is common in public opinion polling for differences of a few percentage points to occur depending on the polling organization, looking at multiple surveys together is important.
The Economist/YouGov Poll Is Similar
In the September Economist/YouGov poll as well, Trump’s job approval rating was 37% and his disapproval rating was 61%.
This survey also shows results similar to other recent polls.
In short, results conducted by different polling institutions such as Reuters/Ipsos, CBS/YouGov, Marquette, and Economist/YouGov all converge around the high 30s.
For this reason, the most reasonable expression when explaining Trump’s job approval rating in the US at present is “around the high 30s.”
How Should We View Trump’s Approval Rating as of September 2026?
Synthesizing current data, it can be summarized as follows:
As of September 21, 2026, Trump’s job approval rating generally falls in the 35–40% range across major national polls, with multiple survey results clustering near 37–39%.
Conversely, the proportion giving a negative evaluation of his job performance is generally around 60%.
However, this does not fully capture the political opinions of all American citizens in a single number.
This is because sample and survey methodology vary by poll, and survey dates also differ by a few days.
Therefore, as new polls are released in the future, current numbers may continue to change.
Is the Figure of 38% That Came Up Previously the Current Number?
The figure of 38% that was first checked in this conversation was a number from the Pew Research survey in August 2025.
At that time, Trump’s approval rating was surveyed at 38%, but since it is currently September 2026, this number should not be used as the present approval rating.
Rechecking the current latest data, results of 35%, 37%, and 39% are coming out in major September 2026 surveys.
Therefore, based on current standards, expressing it as “Trump’s approval rating is approximately 37–39%” or “in the high 30s across major polls” is more appropriate.
Conclusion
As of September 21, 2026, President Trump’s job approval rating is roughly in the high 30s.
Briefly summarizing recent major survey results yields the following:
Reuters/Ipsos: 35% Marquette Law School: 37% Economist/YouGov: 37% CBS News/YouGov: 39%
While there are differences by polling agency, all are within a similar range.
In particular, recent surveys show that evaluations regarding the economy, inflation, cost of living, and gasoline prices appear lower than overall job performance evaluations. On the other hand, evaluations regarding immigration and border security are relatively higher.
Therefore, rather than expressing Trump’s current approval rating as a single number, understanding it as “around the high 30s based on major polls in September 2026” is most accurate.
Note: Public opinion polls may yield different results depending on the timing of the survey, target subjects, and sample composition. The above figures are compiled based on recent national polls verifiable as of September 21, 2026.