President Donald Trump's overall approval rating has fallen to 36% in a new NBC News poll that also found cracks forming inside his own party. Republican approval of Trump's performance dropped nearly 10 points in the survey, driven not by voters abandoning him outright but by a sharp cooling of enthusiasm among those who once backed him most fervently.
The ABC10 report on the poll cited the NBC News Decision Desk survey, conducted from August 20 to September 1, which found Trump's approval at 36%, according to Times Now.
Republican Enthusiasm, Not Loyalty, Is What's Slipping
The real story inside the numbers is intensity, not defection. Among Republican voters, those who said they “strongly approve” of Trump's performance fell to 41% from 52% in spring 2026, while those who “somewhat approve” climbed from 31% to 39%, per Wonderwall. Combine the strong and lukewarm responses and overall GOP approval still sits at 80%, showing the shift is about softening enthusiasm rather than a wholesale party revolt.
The survey found overall approval among MAGA supporters remained high at 93%.
Gas Prices and the Iran War Are Dragging Down the Numbers
Economic anxiety appears to be a central driver. Polling aggregates compiled by analyst Nate Silver in early September show Trump's net approval on inflation at negative 46.1 percentage points and negative 28.3 points on the economy, following a 27% rise in gas prices from pre-war levels, according to Wonderwall.
Foreign policy is compounding the problem. In the NBC survey, 69% of Americans disapproved of Trump's handling of the war in Iran, and strong Republican approval of his war management dropped 18 percentage points since spring to just 30%, according to Waradana. Overall national approval on the Iran war handling stood at just 31%, Times Now reported.
Other Pollsters Largely Agree, With One Exception
NBC's low marks were echoed elsewhere. A Reuters/Ipsos poll placed Trump's approval at a term-low 33%, and a UMass Amherst poll of 1,000 adults recorded 32% approval against 64% disapproval, according to Forbes. That same UMass polling found four in five respondents tied rising food and gas costs to the Iran conflict.
Not every survey painted the same picture. A Harvard CAPS/Harris poll conducted August 28-30 among 2,100 registered voters found Trump's approval actually rose two points to 44%, with 52% disapproving, and 37% of respondents said they felt the country was on the right track, Forbes reported — a rare positive outlier amid otherwise grim numbers.
Data Centers and a Gender Gap Add to the Headwinds
The NBC survey also found 69% of U.S. adults oppose local AI data center construction, putting public opinion at odds with Trump's public statements urging communities to embrace such projects, according to Tampa Free Press. Opposition reached 57% even among Republicans, largely over utility costs and resource concerns.
Women voters remain a focus in the broader political discussion.
GOP Looks to Dallas Convention to Rally the Base
Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance are scheduled to address the first-ever GOP midterm convention in Dallas on September 9-10, an event featuring 109 speakers aimed at re-energizing party voters ahead of November, per Wonderwall. The push comes as Republican strategists consider whether the enthusiasm gap among Trump's own supporters could translate into lower GOP turnout in November.
According to Gallup News, U.S. adults were more enthusiastic than usual about voting in the 2022 midterms, providing a recent point of comparison for assessing whether partisan intensity may affect turnout.
