Trump's Hispanic support collapses to 24% approval ahead of midterms

Donald Trump's approval rating among Hispanic voters has collapsed to 24 percent, marking the lowest point of either of his two terms in office. A Reuters-Ipsos poll completed on Monday found the dramatic slide just weeks before the November midterm elections, a reversal so sharp it threatens to reshape the political landscape heading into voting that will determine control of Congress.

The broader picture shows Trump's overall approval holding steady at 32 percent among all U.S. voters, but the Hispanic erosion tells a different story. In 2024, when Trump won the presidency, he had captured 48 percent of the Hispanic vote—a substantial improvement from his 36 percent showing in 2020 against Joe Biden. Experts credited that Hispanic surge with delivering Trump the White House. Now, just two years later, that coalition has fractured. A new poll shows 52 percent of Hispanic voters plan to vote Democratic in November's midterms, while only 26 percent support Republicans.

The shift reflects deepening anger over Trump's immigration enforcement agenda. Representative Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican incumbent from Florida, released a campaign advertisement last month that spoke directly to the rupture. "The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today," she said, addressing Trump explicitly. She pointed to his hardline crackdown on immigration, specifically the detention and deportation of immigrants with no criminal records. "Some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far," Salazar stated, naming the human cost of policies that were supposed to energize his base but instead appear to have alienated the voters who delivered his victory.

The midterms on November 3 are widely understood as a referendum on Trump's second term. Control of the House and Senate hangs in the balance, and a Democratic majority in either chamber would substantially constrain Trump's ability to advance his agenda for the remainder of his presidency. Political experts have warned that Trump's collapsing approval ratings—driven partly by concerns about the cost of living and his decision to launch a war with Iran—could drag down Republican candidates in competitive races across the country.

Yet Trump has shown no signs of stepping back from the campaign trail. He recently launched a 32-day blitz of cross-country rallies ahead of the midterms, placing himself at the center of the Republican election strategy. When asked about reports that some Republicans would prefer he keep his distance, Trump dismissed the notion. "Just so you understand, they all want me to go," he said. "They all want me to go campaign." The confidence in his statement stands in sharp contrast to the numbers: a constituency that once powered him to victory is now twice as likely to support Democrats, and the question facing Republicans is whether that gap can be closed in the final weeks before voters head to the polls.