Trump approval rating hits low as voters blame him for economy, poll finds
New NBC News survey shows 41% approval, with more voters saying his policies hurt the economy.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Trump approval rating hits low as voters blame him for economy, poll finds
Photograph: USA Today (embedded from source)
What this story says
- President Donald Trump's approval rating has dropped to 41%, a second-term low, according to an NBC News poll released September 20.
- Fifty-five percent of voters surveyed believe Trump's policies have hurt the economy, an increase from March.
- The ongoing Iran war has contributed to rising gasoline prices and other costs, NBC pollsters noted.
- Democrats hold a 5-point lead in the battle for control of Congress, a decrease from their previous advantage.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 7 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
70/100
Hype
20/100
7 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
President Donald Trump's approval rating has reached a second-term low of 41% among registered voters, according to an NBC News poll released on September 20. The survey also found that 55% of voters believe Trump's policies have harmed the economy. This figure represents an increase from March, when 48% of voters held the same view.
NBC pollsters indicated that the ongoing Iran war has contributed to increased gasoline prices and other living costs. In the contest for control of Congress, Democrats currently hold a 5-point lead (50%-45%), a decrease from their 12-point advantage in 2018. Republicans trailed Democrats in the poll regarding who would better handle inflation, with 31% favouring Republicans compared to 38% for Democrats, and the economy, with 38% for Republicans versus 39% for Democrats. Additionally, more than six in ten voters stated that the Iran war has not been worth the cost.
Divergent views on midterm vote motivation
While the NBC News poll found that 55% of voters believe Trump's policies have hurt the economy, other reports indicate different findings regarding voter motivation for the midterm elections. A digest from BizToc stated that a growing share of voters see their congressional vote as driven by opposition to President Donald Trump. A Newsweek digest reported that 43% of voters say their midterm vote is meant to oppose Trump.
What the coverage left out
None of the left or centre-rated reports mention the specific margin of error for the NBC News poll, which was +/- three percentage points. The full reports from USA Today and MetroWest Daily News state this detail, but it was not carried in the digests from Barron's, Newsweek, Biz Toc, Detroit Free Press, or NBC News.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 20 Sept 2026, 19:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
3 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports led with President Donald Trump's approval rating hitting a second-term low and more voters stating his policies have hurt the economy. USA Today and Detroit Free Press, in their full reports, highlighted that Trump's approval rating dropped to 41% and that 55% of voters believe his policies have harmed the economy. These reports also noted that the Iran war has driven up costs and that Democrats hold a 5-point lead in the battle for Congress. NBC News, also rated left, reported that sinking ratings threaten to drag down Republicans in the midterm elections, with voters blaming Trump for high prices and a shaky economy.
Centre
3 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports focused on the drop in Trump's approval ratings and the impact on the economy. Barron's digest stated that 41% of voters approve of Trump's job handling, with 56% disapproving, noting this is lower than previous polls. MetroWest Daily News, in its full report, echoed the findings of Trump's approval rating hitting a second-term low of 41% and 55% of voters believing his policies have hurt the economy. This report also mentioned the Iran war's impact on prices and the Democratic lead in congressional control.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Trump approval rating hits low as voters blame him for economy, poll…?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 50% are rated left, 50% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 7. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Trump approval rating hits low as voters blame him for economy, poll… left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Trump approval rating hits low as voters blame him for economy, poll… biased?
- Trump approval rating hits low as voters blame him for economy, poll finds is one event reported by 7 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Trump approval rating hits low as voters blame him for economy, poll…?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Trump approval rating hits low as voters blame him for economy, poll…?
- 7 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What is Donald Trump's current approval rating?
- According to an NBC News poll released on September 20, President Donald Trump's approval rating has fallen to a second-term low of 41% among registered voters. This represents a decrease from previous polls conducted earlier in the year.
- How do voters feel about Trump's impact on the economy?
- Fifty-five percent of voters surveyed in the NBC News poll believe that President Donald Trump's policies have hurt the economy. This sentiment has increased since March, when 48% of voters expressed a similar view.
- What is the current standing in the battle for control of Congress?
- In the latest NBC News poll, Democrats hold a 5-point lead over Republicans in the race for control of Congress, with 50% of voters favouring Democrats and 45% favouring Republicans. This lead is down from a 12-point advantage Democrats had in 2018.
Read it at the source
7 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
3- Trump's approval rating drops, more voters say he's hurt the economy: new poll (opens Detroit Free Press in a new tab)
Detroit Free Press — is Detroit Free Press biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump's approval rating drops, more voters say he's hurt the economy: new poll (opens USA Today in a new tab)
- Poll: Most voters say Trump has hurt the economy as competitive midterm election looms (opens NBC News in a new tab)
Centre
3- Trump's Approval Ratings Drop as Voters Cite Economy (opens Barron's in a new tab)
- 43 Percent Say Midterm Vote Is Meant to Oppose Trump, Poll Finds (opens Newsweek in a new tab)
- Trump's approval rating drops, more voters say he's hurt the economy: new poll (opens MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA… in a new tab)
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
1How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.


