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October 21, 2025

60% Disapprove of the Way Trump is Handling His Job,
63% Disapprove of the Way Trump is Handling the Economy

A total of 37% of Americans say they approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president and 60% say they disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. In September, 37% of Americans approved of the way Trump was handling his job and 58% disapproved.

In October 2017, 34% approved of the way Trump was handling his job as president and 61% disapproved.

When it comes to Trump's handling of the economy, 34% of Americans approve and 63% disapprove. In September, 34% of Americans approved of the way Trump was handling the economy and 63% disapproved.

In October 2017, 34% approved of the way Trump was handling the economy and 57% disapproved.

Among Americans registered to vote, 37% approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president and 60% disapprove. On Trump's handling of the economy, 34% of registered voters approve and 63% disapprove.

Of the 37% of Americans saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president in the current survey, 23% say they expect the national economy will be better a year from now, 22% say the national economy will be the same, and 46% say they expect the national economy will be worse a year from now. In February 2025 among the 43% then saying they approved of the way Trump was handling his job, 46% said they expected the national economy to be better in a year, 11% said they expected the national economy to be the same in a year, and 30% said they expected the national economy to be worse in a year.

Of the 60% saying they disapprove of the way Trump his handling his job as president in the current survey, 74% say they expect the national economy will be worse a year from now.

Of the 37% of Americans saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president in the current survey, 14% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be better a year from now, 36% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be the same a year from now, and 45% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be worse a year from now. In February 2025 among the 43% then saying they approved of the way Trump was handling his job, 43% said they expected the financial situations in their households would be better in a year, 39% said they expected the financial situations in their households would be the same in a year, and 11% said they expected the financial situations in their households would be worse in a year.

Of the 60% saying they disapprove of the way Trump his handling his job as president in the current survey, 7% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be better a year from now, 23% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be the same a year from now, and 63% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be worse a year from now. 

The results presented here are based on 1,100 completed interviews conducted among a nationwide random sample of adults October 17 through 20, 2025. The theoretical margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.

Overall, 37% of Americans say that they approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president, 60% disapprove, and 3% are undecided.

Trump
job approval
Approve Disapprove Undecided
Oct 2025 37% 60% 3%
Sep 2025 37% 58% 5%
Aug 2025 38% 59% 3%
Jul 2025 38% 59% 3%
Jun 2025 38% 59% 3%
May 2025 41% 55% 4%
Apr 2025 43% 53% 4%
Mar 2025 45% 51% 4%
Feb 2025 43% 51% 6%
Joe Biden:
Jan 2025 37% 58% 5%
Dec 2024 37% 56% 7%
Nov 2024 41% 53% 6%
Oct 2024 44% 50% 6%

Among Republicans (32% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 30% of all adults in the survey), 79% approve of the way Trump is handling his job and 18% disapprove. Among Democrats (32% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 29% of all adults in the survey), 1% approve and 98% disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job. Among independents (36% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 33% of all adults in the survey), 32% approve and 64% disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job as president.

Overall, 34% of Americans say that they approve of the way Donald Trump is handling the economy, 63% disapprove, and 3% are undecided. Among registered voters, 34% approve and 63% disapprove of the way Trump is handling the economy.

Trump handling the economy Approve Disapprove Undecided
Oct 2025 34% 63% 3%
Sep 2025 34% 63% 3%
Aug 2025 34% 63% 3%
Jul 2025 35% 62% 3%
Jun 2025 35% 61% 4%
May 2025 37% 60% 3%
Apr 2025 39% 57% 4%
Mar 2025 40% 55% 5%
Feb 2025 38% 56% 6%
Joe Biden:
Jan 2025 35% 61% 4%
Dec 2024 36% 58% 6%
Nov 2024 40% 55% 5%
Oct 2024 45% 50% 5%

Among Republicans, 70% approve of the way Trump is handling the economy and 28% disapprove. Among Democrats, 1% approve of the way Trump is handling the economy and 98% disapprove. Among independents, 31% approve and 63% disapprove of the way Trump is handling the economy.

A total of 10% of Americans say that the national economy is getting better, 15% say it is staying the same, and 69% say the national economy is getting worse.

National economy

Getting better

Staying the same

Getting worse

Undecided

Oct 2025 10% 15% 69% 6%
Sep 2025 10% 20% 65% 5%
Aug 2025 11% 21% 64% 4%
Jul 2025 11% 20% 64% 5%
Jun 2025 12% 19% 66% 3%
May 2025 13% 16% 66% 5%
Apr 2025 15% 22% 60% 3%
Mar 2025 21% 20% 56% 3%
Feb 2025 20% 26% 50% 4%
Jan 2025 27% 9% 60% 4%
Dec 2024 28% 9% 58% 5%
Nov 2024 33% 14% 49% 4%
Oct 2024 36% 13% 47% 4%

Among those saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job, 17% say getting better, 27% say staying the same, and 49% say getting worse. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job, 5% say getting better, 8% say staying the same, and 81% say getting worse.

A total of 12% of Americans say they believe the national economy will be better a year from now, 17% say it will be the same, and 63% say it will be worse.

National economy a year from now

Better than today

The same as today

Worse than today

Undecided

Oct 2025 12% 17% 63% 8%
Sep 2025 14% 18% 61% 7%
Aug 2025 16% 17% 61% 6%
Jul 2025 16% 15% 60% 9%
Jun 2025 20% 15% 58% 7%
May 2025 23% 15% 56% 6%
Apr 2025 26% 17% 51% 6%
Mar 2025 30% 19% 44% 7%
Feb 2025 34% 19% 36% 11%
Jan 2025 33% 25% 26% 16%
Dec 2024 34% 26% 25% 15%
Nov 2024 36% 25% 26% 13%
Oct 2024 40% 23% 25% 12%

Among those saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job, 23% say better, 22% say the same as today, 46% say worse than today, and 9% are undecided. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job as president, 6% say better, 14% say the same, and 74% say worse.

Overall, 56% of Americans say they believe that the national economy is in a recession, 29% say they do not believe the economy is in a recession, and 15% are undecided.

National economy in a recession Yes No Undecided
Oct 2025 56% 29% 15%
Sep 2025 54% 30% 16%
Aug 2025 52% 32% 16%
Jul 2025 52% 30% 18%
Jun 2025 50% 33% 17%
May 2025 50% 29% 21%
Apr 2025 46% 33% 21%
Mar 2025 47% 33% 20%
Feb 2025 46% 35% 19%
Jan 2025 42% 44% 14%
Dec 2024 41% 45% 14%
Nov 2024 38% 49% 13%
Oct 2024 38% 51% 11%

Among those saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job, 35% say the national economy is in a recession, 51% say the national economy is not in a recession, and 14% are undecided. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job, 68% say the national economy is in a recession, 15% say the national economy is not in a recession, and 17% are undecided.

A total of 14% of Americans rate the national economy as excellent, very good, or good and 82% rate it as bad, very bad, or terrible.

National economy

Excellent

Very good

Good

Bad

Very bad

Terrible

Undecided

Oct 2025 2% 5% 7% 35% 4% 43% 4%
Sep 2025 2% 6% 9% 40% 5% 34% 4%
Aug 2025 2% 7% 10% 42% 4% 30% 5%
Jul 2025 2% 10% 10% 44% 4% 25% 5%
Jun 2025 2% 10% 10% 48% 5% 20% 5%
May 2025 2% 12% 13% 46% 5% 17% 5%
Apr 2025 2% 14% 12% 50% 4% 13% 5%
Mar 2025 2% 17% 15% 48% 6% 8% 4%
Feb 2025 2% 14% 14% 49% 9% 8% 4%
Jan 2025 15% 16% 12% 8% 18% 30% 1%
Dec 2024 15% 15% 14% 8% 17% 30% 1%
Nov 2024 14% 17% 19% 7% 15% 27% 1%
Oct 2024 15% 17% 22% 6% 12% 27% 1%

Among those saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job, 26% say very good, or good and 72% say bad, very bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job, 7% say very good, or good and 89% say bad, very bad, or terrible.

When it comes to rating their household financial situations, 38% of Americans give an excellent, very good, or good rating and 57% give a bad, very bad, or terrible rating.

Household financial situation

Excellent

Very good

Good

Bad

Very bad

Terrible

Undecided

Oct 2025 7% 7% 24% 22% 3% 32% 5%
Sep 2025 5% 9% 27% 21% 4% 30% 4%
Aug 2025 6% 10% 29% 21% 3% 28% 3%
Jul 2025 8% 11% 28% 21% 3% 23% 6%
Jun 2025 6% 10% 29% 23% 3% 24% 5%
May 2025 7% 11% 29% 24% 5% 18% 6%
Apr 2025 8% 14% 29% 21% 6% 18% 4%
Mar 2025 11% 18% 33% 12% 8% 14% 4%
Feb 2025 12% 22% 31% 12% 5% 12% 6%
Jan 2025 10% 22% 28% 23% 8% 3% 6%
Dec 2024 12% 19% 29% 22% 8% 3% 7%
Nov 2024 13% 20% 34% 19% 7% 3% 4%
Oct 2024 16% 20% 30% 15% 5% 7% 7%

Among those saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job, 50% say excellent, very good, or good and 45% say bad, very bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job, 31% say very good, or good and 64% say bad, very bad, or terrible.

A total of 4% of Americans say they think the financial situations in their households are getting better, 25% say staying the same, and 66% say getting worse.

Household financial situation

Getting better

Staying the same

Getting worse

Undecided

Oct 2025 4% 25% 66% 5%
Sep 2025 5% 30% 60% 5%
Aug 2025 6% 33% 56% 5%
Jul 2025 6% 33% 57% 4%
Jun 2025 5% 36% 55% 4%
May 2025 5% 37% 53% 5%
Apr 2025 6% 41% 48% 5%
Mar 2025 7% 47% 39% 7%
Feb 2025 8% 51% 30% 11%
Jan 2025 10% 42% 47% 1%
Dec 2024 12% 43% 44% 1%
Nov 2024 15% 47% 37% 1%
Oct 2024 18% 44% 36% 2%

Among those saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job, 10% say getting better, 40% say staying the same, and 48% say getting worse. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job, 1% say getting better, 17% say staying the same, and 77% say getting worse.

Looking to a year from now, 10% of Americans say that they think their household financial situations will be better than today, 28% say the same as today, and 56% say worse than today.

Household financial situation a year from now

Better than today

The same as today

Worse than
today

Undecided

Oct 2025 10% 28% 56% 6%
Sep 2025 13% 29% 52% 6%
Aug 2025 16% 31% 48% 5%
Jul 2025 17% 31% 44% 8%
Jun 2025 19% 28% 46% 7%
May 2025 20% 31% 43% 6%
Apr 2025 24% 32% 37% 7%
Mar 2025 26% 34% 30% 10%
Feb 2025 32% 41% 18% 9%
Jan 2025 23% 43% 29% 5%
Dec 2024 24% 43% 28% 5%
Nov 2024 36% 44% 15% 5%
Oct 2024 32% 41% 23% 4%

Among those saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job, 14% say better than today, 36% say the same as today, and 45% say worse than today. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job, 7% say better than today, 23% say the same as today, and 63% say worse than today.


About this Survey -

Survey Sponsor: American Research Group, Inc.

The American Research Group has been conducting national surveys of consumers since 1985.

Sample Size: 1,100 completed interviews among a random sample of all adults age 18 and older living in households in the continental United States (see methodology for details). There were 322 Republicans, 321 Democrats, 358 independents, and 99 non-voters in the sample.

Sample Dates: October 17-20, 2025

Margin of Error: ± 3 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.

Question Wording and Order:

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president?

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling the economy?

How do you rate the condition of the national economy these days - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad, or terrible?

Do you think the national economy is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?

Would you say that the national economy is in a recession, or not?

A year from now, do you expect the national economy to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today?

How do you rate the condition of the financial situation in your household - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad, or terrible?

Do you think the financial situation in your household is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?

A year from now, do you expect the financial situation in your household to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today?

 

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