A year into his historic second term, President Donald Trump is confronting what political analysts believe is a dangerous reality. Going by a flurry of new polls that were announced in January 2026 the President approval ratings have stalled in a place that can practically signify doom to the Republican Party in the midterm elections of the coming 2026.
As the White House continues to be belligerent, and his spokeswoman Anna Kelly continues to insist on an argument that American people are fully on board with the MAGA agenda, the statistics paint a picture of gendered economic anxiety and a theatrical loss of support by the very people who gave him the keys back to the Oval Office.
The “Dangerous” Numbers: Statistical Dissection.
Recently the CNN political director David Chalian has said that the position of the President was at a dangerous stage. According to the recent CNN poll by SSRS (January 9-12, 2026), the situation is not optimistic: Trump has the lowest overall job approval of just 39 percent.
The “Underwater” Reality.
Trump is now underwater on almost every major issue unlike during his first term where the economy became more like a buoying force to his numbers.
• Overall Approval: 39%
• Economic Handling Only 37% (AP-NORC) to 38% (Marist) approve. This is an improved 38% (AP-NORC), compared to 49% last March, on Immigration Handling.
• Foreign Policy: 60 percent of Americans now dislike his international style.
Demographic Changes: The Coalition is Cracking.
This is not the numbers that the GOP strategists fear the most, not the predicted resistance of the Democrats, but the cliff that the President is teetering on when it comes to independents and target audiences.
Why the Slide? Economy and Power Overreach.
The main two reasons are behind this negative trend; the ongoing inflation crisis and an increasingly popular story of presidential overreach.
1. The Economy: Although Trump says the cycle is in a boom, 55% of Americans feel that Trump is actually making economic conditions even worse through his policies, in particular, aggressive tariffs.
2. The Executive Power: A huge majority of 58 percent of the voters express that the President has exceeded his authority with regard to his use of executive power.
This feeling is driven by the latest threat of calling the Insurrection Act in Minneapolis and the scandalous military intervention in Venezuela. According to CNN reporter David Chalian, it is only a president and a presidency that is not in tune with the national priorities of the country.
The Midterm Shadow: Republicans on Edge.
As the Republicans head to the 2026 midterms, these numbers are causing shivers down the spine of Republicans in Capitol hill. Although 9 out of 10 Republicans continue to strongly support the President, a party will not win on the basis alone.
Unless the net approval rating, which is currently at -18 (Marist) and -19 (AP-NORC), is positively changed, the GOP will have to run the risk of losing its congressional majorities. The dissatisfaction of the working-class Americans (36% approval) indicates that even the 2024 gains linked to the Blue Wall are at risk.
FAQs
Q: Does 39 percent make the lowest approval of Trump in his whole life?
A: No. Although it is the lowest of his second term, his all-time low was around 34% at the end of his first one in January 2021.
Q: How come that Independents are not fond of the current agenda?
A: According to the polls, the main concern of the Independents is the fact that they have the wrong priorities: namely, they refer to the emphasis on foreign interventions (such as Greenland) and the domestic expenditure and healthcare.
Q: What is the comparison of this to the first year of Joe Biden?
A: Although Biden had better numbers, both presidents registered a close relatedness of quick decreases during their initial 12 months in the office owing to unrelenting economic anxieties.
Disclaimer:
The news content found here is founded on the information that was available in the form of reports and credible sources. The updates on official news sources should be cross-checked by the readers.