USAupdated 1h ago3 min read
Poll Finds 36% Approval for Donald Trump as Midterms Loom, Voters Prefer Democratic Congress
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CNBC survey finds 65% disapprove of Trump's economic leadership ahead of midterms. Polls indicate voters favor a Democratic-controlled Congress in the upcoming elections.
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One story. Different accounts.
The Guardian“Mr Trump’s bread-and-circuses politics is floundering, cage fights on the South Lawn of the White House notwithstanding, as voters ask what happened to the bread.”
Channel 4 News“But, in many ways, the conditions could not be better for Democrats, who can urge voters to give an unpopular President a kicking in the face of rising prices, an unwelcome war in the Middle East”
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Midterms and Trump
Donald Trump is not on the ballot this November, but the midterms could change the final two years of his presidency, with control of Congress shaping what legislation, investigations, and rulemaking could be possible.
“Donald Trump isn’t on the ballot this November, but the midterms could change the final two years of his presidency.”
A poll found 34% of Republicans and 66% of all American voters think Trump is using his position to make himself rich, and his popularity rating sank to a record low of 36% in a poll on Wednesday.
Its survey found 65% of Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump's economic approval, and the survey of 1,000 registered voters showed Americans prefer Democratic control of Congress by a 52% to 45% margin.
CNBC also said the survey found 72% of Democrats highly interested in the midterm election on Nov. 3, compared with just 62% of Republicans, and it reported that 63% of the public is pessimistic about the current state of the economy and the outlook.
Brookings said on Nov. 3 voters will cast ballots that decide the balance of power in Congress and set the stage for what legislation, investigations, and rulemaking could be possible for years to come.
What could change
Brookings said that if Democrats capture one or both chambers, health care will likely be high on their agenda, while it said major changes are unlikely while President Trump remains in office. Brookings said House Democrats passed bills authorizing Medicare drug price negotiation in 2019 and expanding Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace subsidies in 2020, despite little prospect of enactment under President Trump. Brookings said House Republicans passed a debt ceiling bill that included Medicaid work requirements in 2023, despite President Biden’s opposition, and it said similar requirements became law under unified Republican control in 2025.
Brookings said a Democratic agenda would likely start with reversing cuts to Medicaid and the Marketplaces enacted in 2025 and restoring enhanced Marketplace premium subsidies. Brookings added that if Democrats take control of one or both chambers of the 120th Congress, they are likely to feel immense pressure to rein in the Iran war, among other controversial aspects of the Trump administration’s foreign policy.
Pressure, oversight, and stakes
Brookings said even a new majority is unlikely to have the two-thirds support necessary to override a presidential veto in order to install new legislative restrictions, and it said cutting off funding is not always a politically viable alternative. Brookings said the 120th Congress is likely to see more of the innovative methods the current minority has used to pressure the Trump administration into winding down the Iran war, including by withholding funding and exploring new litigation options. The Guardian said Republicans still hope to reclaim ground through traditional if unsavoury means, massively outspending Democrats, and it said culture war attacks and salacious lies about opponents such as James Talarico in Texas do not seem, at least so far, to be as powerful as Republicans hoped.
Government corruption was identified as the top concern by 36% of respondents, and Democrats hold a 4-point lead on addressing the issue. Brookings said a full Democrat-chaired committee will likely want to uncover the backstories behind actions at both the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission, where the courts have questioned investigations into disfavored news organizations like Media Matters.