NBC News Decision Desk Poll Finds Trump Approval Drops to 37 Percent

President Donald Trump’s approval rating sank to a new second-term low in an NBC News Decision Desk poll powered by SurveyMonkey, with 37 percent of respondents saying they approve of the president’s overall performance.

“On January 20, 2025, supporters of the MAGA 'Make America Great Again' movement were overjoyed”

BFM

The Hill reported that the survey was conducted during the first two weeks of April and that approval fell from 39 percent in early February and 42 percent in early December.

BFM

The Hill also said the decline was driven by Americans who “strongly approve,” which dropped to 20 percent from 26 percent one year ago.

NBC News reported the same overall figure—37 percent approve and 63 percent disapprove—with 50 percent saying they disapprove strongly.

The Hill further tied the poll’s timing to a “volatile moment in the stock market,” when the stock market “fell to its lowest point all year” as pollsters were in the field.

The Hill said Trump’s economic approval “took a nosedive — falling to 32 percent, with 13 percent strongly approving.”

NBC News added that the poll was conducted from March 30 to April 13 with 32,433 adults nationwide and a margin of error of 1.8 percentage points.

Multiple outlets tied the approval drop to Americans’ economic anxiety and the war with Iran, using the same NBC News Decision Desk polling framework.

The Hill said the poll reflected “Americans’ economic anxiety,” and that Trump’s approval on inflation and cost of living hovered around 40 percent in polls conducted in April 2025, June 2025 and August 2025 before falling to 32 percent in the latest survey.

KXAN Austin

The Hill also reported that “Of the two-thirds of respondents who are disappointed with Trump’s handling of the key economic issues, 52 percent say they ‘strongly disapprove’ of the president’s performance.”

NJ’s local reporting echoed the same structure, saying the poll suggested “economic issues and the Iran war are weighing on Trump’s approval rating,” and that only 32% approved of Trump’s handling of inflation and the cost of living while 68% disapproved.

On the Iran war, NJ’s report stated that “about two-thirds disapproved of Trump’s handling of the conflict while about one-third approved,” and it added that among Republicans, 74% approved while 26% disapproved.

KXAN Austin similarly said the poll showed approval ratings declining “as concerngrows over the war in Iran and mounting costs,” and it specified that 82% of Independents disapproved of Trump’s handling of the war.

The Hill also described how the stock market context overlapped with the polling period, noting that the stock market “fell to its lowest point all year” while pollsters were in the field.

The NBC polling results also showed sharp differences by party and by generation, with Republicans’ support weakening and Gen Z disapproval surging.

“President Donald Trump’s approval ratings have dropped to their lowest level since the start of his second term”

Mother Jones

NJ reported that Trump’s approval among Republicans fell in the latest poll compared to surveys taken in January and February, saying 83% of Republicans approved of Trump’s job performance, down 4 percentage points, and that the share who “strongly approved” dropped from 58% earlier this year to 52%.

The Hill similarly described the overall pattern of falling support, saying the decline in Americans who strongly approve accounted for most of the falling approval rating, with “20 percent strongly approve of the president, down from 26 percent one year ago.”

OregonLive reported that Gen Z’s disapproval was even higher, stating that “more than three-fourths (76%) of Gen Z American adults, those between ages 18 and 29, disapprove of Trump’s job performance.”

OregonLive also said Gen Z disapproval marked a 12-point shift from an NBC News poll conducted last August and September that showed a Trump disapproval rating of 64%.

The same OregonLive report said disapproval jumped among every age group, including 64% of those 30-44, 57% of those 45-64, and 58% of those 65 and older.

It also tied issue-specific disapproval to Gen Z, reporting disapproval ratings of 81% on the war with Iran, 80% on inflation and the cost of living, and 70% on border security and immigration.

While the NBC poll results circulated, NBC News’ live updates described simultaneous political and legal developments in the Trump administration.

NBC News said “LABOR SECRETARY RESIGNS,” reporting that Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has resigned according to two sources with knowledge of the decision, making her the third Cabinet member to depart during President Donald Trump’s second term.

NBC News

The same NBC live updates said Chavez-DeRemer had been facing an inspector general probe over potential misconduct, and it added that “Nick Oberheiden, an attorney for Chavez-DeRemer, told NBC News that her resignation “is not the result of legal wrongdoings. It is a personal decision.””

NBC News also reported that “KASH PATEL LAWSUIT” was underway, stating that FBI Director Kash Patel has filed a defamation lawsuit over a report in The Atlantic magazine that alleged he drinks to excess and has had unexplained absences from the bureau.

In the courts, NBC News said the Supreme Court “today took up its latest case asserting religious rights claims,” agreeing to hear arguments that Colorado should exempt Catholic entities from a nondiscrimination provision in its state-funded preschool program.

NBC News further stated that Trump “today signed five presidential determinations, invoking the Defense Production Act to fund energy projects,” and it quoted White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers saying, “President Trump promised to fully unleash American energy dominance to protect our economic and national security — today’s determinations allow the Department of Energy to use funding secured in the One Big Beautiful Bill to strengthen our grid infrastructure and unleash reliable, affordable, secure energy.”

NBC News’ live update package therefore placed the approval polling alongside personnel changes, litigation, and Supreme Court action.

Beyond the headline approval numbers, the sources also diverged in how they described what the polling meant for Trump’s political coalition.

“PresidentDonald Trumpis losing support among Republicans amid the ongoing Iran war, according to a new poll”

NJ

The Hill framed the decline as a second-term low driven by the drop in strong approval, emphasizing that “The decline in Americans who strongly approve of Trump’s job in office accounts for most of his falling approval rating.”

NJ

Mother Jones likewise described the NBC Decision Desk poll as showing Trump at “their lowest level since the start of his second term,” and it highlighted that 52 percent “strongly disapprove” and 16 percent “somewhat disapprove” of Trump’s handling of inflation and the cost of living.

OregonLive focused on generational change, saying “Gen Z’s support for Trump shrinking fast, poll finds,” and it reported that 62% of Gen Z expect life for their generation to be worse than previous generations while 25% said better and 13% said about the same.

Telemundo Washington DC described the poll as showing “cracks are showing ahead of 2026,” saying Trump’s approval “remains low among adults” and that “he has lost ground among his 'Make America Great Again' base.”

BFM, meanwhile, framed the same general trend as a “fracture” of the MAGA base, asserting that “his popularity has fallen” and citing an NBC News poll conducted between November 20 and December 8 that showed Trump’s approval among Republicans who identify as MAGA fell from 78% to 70%.

BFM also described the Epstein affair as a fracture point, quoting Jack Posobiec saying, “It is the image he projects, that of an occult system that controls our government, our institutions, our lives, and that exerts a real grip on us.”