President Donald Trump is staring down his worst approval numbers yet, according to the latest Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday. Just 43% of respondents said they approve of the job Trump is doing—his lowest figure in Marquette’s polling this year. Meanwhile, 57% disapproved, pushing the disapproval gap to a steep 14 points.
It’s a sharp drop from earlier in the year. At the start of Trump’s second term, he held a 48% approval rating. That slid to 46% in March, then to 45% in July. Now, September’s 43% marks a new low, as more voters appear to be peeling away.
The poll paints a sobering picture of Trump’s standing—not just among independents, but even within his own party.
Republican support remains strong, but it’s slipping. Back in January, 89% of Republicans gave him a thumbs-up. That’s now down to 81%. Among independents, it’s a steeper dive—from 37% approval in January to just 27% now. Even Democratic numbers, never friendly to Trump, showed a slight decline—from 9% at the start of the year to 8% in September.
On some issues, Trump is still finding solid ground. He continues to poll above 50% on border security, long one of his political strongholds. Fifty-five percent said they approved of his handling of the border, compared to 45% who disapproved.
His response to the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10 also drew a slim majority of approval. According to the poll, 53% approved of how Trump handled the tragedy, while 47% did not.
But outside of that, the numbers get rough.
A staggering 72% disapprove of Trump’s handling of the recently surfaced information regarding Jeffrey Epstein. His response to the ongoing inflation crisis fared nearly as poorly, with 71% disapproval. When it comes to foreign policy, particularly the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, the numbers are also upside down—67% disapprove of Trump’s handling of the Russia-Ukraine war, and 66% disapprove of how he’s managed the Israel-Hamas conflict.
These aren’t just isolated findings. The Marquette numbers line up closely with other major national polls. A New York Times/Siena College survey released Monday showed similar trends. A day later, a YouGov/Economist poll showed Trump’s approval had dropped to 39%, another low point, with 57% disapproval.
The Marquette poll surveyed 1,043 adults between Sept. 12 and 15 and carries a margin of error of ±3.3 percentage points.
Bottom line: Trump’s approval is sliding, and fast. Even with strong support on a few key issues, the broader public is signaling growing discontent—across party lines, across issues, and across polls.
