Donald Trump's Approval Rating Plunges With Voters He Needs

PresidentDonald Trump's approval rating has fallen sharply since January, with steep declines among Gen Z, independents and even Republicans, according to new Verasight/Strength in Numbers polling.

The shift matters now because it reflects simultaneous movement away from Trump across multiple voter blocs rather than weakness concentrated in a single demographic. Young voters, independents and core Republican supporters are all moving in the same direction at the same time, tightening the political space Trump has to recover lost ground.

"It comes back to what Trump promised these groups," Ben Leff, CEO and co‑founder of Verasight, told Newsweek.

"Particularly Gen Z Americans were concerned about inflation, prices and avoiding new wars, and I think a lot of them feel betrayed on both those issues."

Why It Matters

Presidential approval tends to harden over time, particularly within a party base, making broad declines across several groups unusual. The consistency of the movement suggests something more than routine polling volatility.

Gen Z Turns Sharply Away From Trump

Verasight surveyed 1,532 United States residents aged 18 and over between January 14 and January 20, 2026. The poll was weighted to the November 2025 Current Population Survey by age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status, and calibrated to Pew Research Center NPORS benchmarks and the 2024 vote. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

Gen Z voters aged 18 to 29 gave Trump a net approval rating of minus 32 percent. Across all voters, his net approval stood at minus 18 percent.

But by April, the picture had darkened considerably. Verasight's follow‑up survey, conducted April 10-14 among 1,514 adults and weighted to the March 2026 Current Population Survey, Pew NPORS benchmarks and 2024 vote, carried a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.

Gen Z voters recorded a net approval rating of minus 54 percent, a 22‑point swing since January. Net approval among all voters fell by 8 points over the same period to -26 percent.

Leff told Newsweek that the scale of the drop among young voters reflects a sense that Trump has fallen short of key promises that resonated with them during the last election cycle.

"They're more reactive. If you're younger, you have less disposable income, so you really feel changes in prices," he said. "What's also striking is that Trump was never expected to do as well with Gen Z as he did in the last election-Democrats have traditionally dominated that group."

He added that while inflation remains Trump's weakest issue overall, foreign policy developments have increasingly shaped Gen Z opinion in recent weeks, helping to accelerate the decline beyond the national trend.

Leff said that Trump's relative strength among younger voters in 2024 was partly driven by influential online personalities who framed him favorably at the time. As some of those voices have since turned critical, he said, that shift may be accelerating discontent among Gen Z voters who once gave Trump the benefit of the doubt.

"If you look at why he did so well, it was the manosphere podcasters who were really pumping him up, and that group started to turn on him, which might also be driving why we’re seeing discontent among Gen Z," Leff said.

Republican Support Remains Strong, But Less Certain

Trump's erosion is not limited to voters outside his party.

In the January survey, Republicans rated Trump at +64 percent net approval. By April, Republican net approval had slipped to +58 percent, according to that poll.

Leff cautioned that declining approval does not automatically translate into voters crossing party lines, noting that disapproval is more likely to show up in turnout decisions than vote switching.

"These folks are still Republicans-they're not going to switch who they vote for," he said. "The real concern is whether they turn out in the midterms."

While Republican approval remains positive, the direction of travel is notable. Declines inside a party base tend to reflect softening enthusiasm rather than wholesale rejection, a dynamic that can leave down‑ballot candidates exposed.

Independent Voters ‘Disappointed, Disillusioned'

Independent voters show a similar but more severe slide.

In January, independents rated Trump at -34 percent net approval in the same Verasight survey. By April, independent net approval had fallen to -44 percent in the updated poll, marking a 10‑point shift in three months.

Leff said many independents who were open to Trump were initially drawn to his economic and foreign policy arguments, but have grown disillusioned as conditions changed.

"They were persuaded by his economic message and by the idea of avoiding traditional foreign policy conflicts," Leff said. "Now they're feeling disappointed and disillusioned."

Whether that frustration results in disengagement or active opposition remains uncertain, but the consistent movement away from Trump mirrors patterns seen among younger voters and Republicans alike.

Taken together, the polling suggests Trump is facing pressure from multiple directions at once, a challenge that becomes harder to manage the longer it persists.

White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Newsweek in an emailed statement: "The ultimate poll was November 5th 2024 when nearly 80 million Americans overwhelmingly elected President Trump to deliver on his popular and commonsense agenda.

"No other President in history has accomplished more for the American people than President Trump, who is working tirelessly to create jobs, cool inflation, increase housing affordability, and more. The President has already made historic progress not only in America but around the world, and this is just the beginning as his agenda continues taking effect."

2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.

This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 1:24 PM.