Six in ten Americans now disapprove of the president
In the long arc of American democratic life, public opinion serves as a kind of slow-moving verdict — not final, but telling. A new ABC News and Washington Post poll now shows that six in ten Americans disapprove of President Trump's job performance, a threshold his presidency has never before crossed. At 62%, this record disapproval does not merely reflect dissatisfaction with a policy or a moment; it suggests something more settled — a broad public judgment about the character of this presidency. How that judgment translates into political consequence remains the open question of the season.
- Trump's disapproval rating has reached 62% — a number his presidency has never seen before and one that political operatives on both sides cannot afford to dismiss.
- Disapproval ratings tend to calcify rather than soften; voters who have turned away from a president rarely return, making this threshold especially consequential.
- The record number constrains presidential power in concrete ways — narrowing legislative coalitions, weakening leverage over wavering lawmakers, and eroding the public mandate needed to govern.
- Political strategists are already dissecting what this signals: for Democrats, a possible opening; for Republicans, a warning about the road ahead in an election year.
- The poll lands in early May 2026, a moment when both parties are shaping electoral strategy — and a 62% disapproval figure becomes a weapon, a warning, and a question all at once.
A new poll from ABC News and the Washington Post has found that 62% of Americans now disapprove of President Trump's job performance — the highest disapproval rating of his presidency on record. Released in early May 2026, the survey captures what analysts are describing as a moment of deepening and potentially durable public discontent.
Disapproval ratings carry a particular weight in political analysis: unlike approval numbers, they tend to harden over time. Voters who have turned against a sitting president rarely come back. At this level, Trump's standing enters territory that historically constrains a president's ability to pass legislation, hold congressional allies in line, and maintain the kind of public mandate that translates into real political leverage.
Political strategists Tiffany Smiley and Ameshia Cross appeared on CBS News to help viewers understand not just the number, but what it signals — the accumulated weight of economic conditions, foreign policy decisions, and the daily friction of political conflict that shapes how the public renders its judgment on a presidency.
With an election year as backdrop, the poll becomes a strategic document for both parties. Democrats see evidence that the political environment may be shifting in their favor. Republicans face a stark warning that their standard-bearer carries a heavier burden than conventional wisdom had assumed. Whether this disapproval hardens into electoral consequence, or shifts the behavior of Republican lawmakers, remains to be seen — but at 62%, it is a number no one in politics can look away from.
A new survey from ABC News and the Washington Post released this week found that six in ten Americans now disapprove of President Trump's job performance—a threshold his presidency has never crossed before. The 62% disapproval mark represents a significant shift in the political landscape, one that strategists and analysts are already parsing for what it might mean in the months ahead.
The poll captures a moment of deepening public discontent. Disapproval ratings, unlike approval numbers, tend to harden over time; voters who have turned against a president rarely return to supporting him. At this level, Trump's standing has moved into territory that typically constrains a president's ability to govern effectively, to pass legislation through Congress, or to maintain the kind of public mandate that translates into political leverage.
Tiffany Smiley and Ameshia Cross, both seasoned political strategists, appeared on CBS News to unpack the findings. Their analysis touched on what drives such numbers—economic conditions, foreign policy decisions, the accumulated weight of daily political conflict—though the source material does not detail their specific commentary. What matters is that they were brought in to help viewers understand not just the number itself, but what it signals about the political moment.
For a sitting president, a disapproval rating at this height is a constraint on power. It narrows the coalition available for legislative victories. It makes it harder to persuade swing voters or to hold wavering members of Congress in line. It suggests that the public conversation has shifted from debate about specific policies to something more fundamental—a judgment about the person in office.
The timing of this poll, released in early May 2026, places it in a context the source material does not explicitly name but which readers will understand: an election year. Record disapproval in a presidential election year is a data point that both parties will use to shape their strategies. For Democrats, it is evidence that the political environment may be moving in their direction. For Republicans, it is a warning that the party's standard-bearer faces a steeper climb than conventional wisdom might have suggested.
What remains to be seen is whether this disapproval translates into electoral consequences, whether it shifts the behavior of Republican lawmakers, or whether it hardens into something immovable. Polls capture a moment; they do not predict the future. But a 62% disapproval rating is not a moment that any political operative can ignore.
Citas Notables
Political strategists Tiffany Smiley and Ameshia Cross analyzed the implications of the record disapproval on CBS News— CBS News reporting
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
What does a 62% disapproval rating actually mean in practical terms for a president?
It means he's lost the center. When nearly two-thirds of the country disapproves, you're not dealing with partisan division anymore—you're dealing with a fundamental loss of public confidence. That constrains everything: legislative negotiations, executive authority, even the ability to set the national agenda.
Is this number surprising, or has disapproval been climbing steadily?
The fact that it's an all-time high suggests it's been building. Disapproval doesn't usually spike overnight. It accumulates. People move from skeptical to disappointed to actively opposed. This is the endpoint of that journey.
Why would strategists from both parties care about this specific moment?
Because it's an election year. This number tells you what the political terrain looks like right now. For one party it's a tailwind, for the other it's a headwind. Both need to know what they're working with.
Can a president recover from 62% disapproval?
Historically, it's very difficult. Disapproval tends to be sticky. People don't usually change their minds back. But politics isn't purely historical—unexpected events, economic shifts, or major policy wins can move numbers. It's not impossible, just improbable.
What does this mean for Congress?
Republican lawmakers start calculating. If the president is deeply unpopular, do they distance themselves or stay loyal? That's the tension that plays out in an election year with numbers like these.