In the middle of an election year, there is no good news for Donald Trump. A new study by the Pew Research Center, a leading statistical center in the United States, reveals that citizens’ assessment of the president is going through a critical moment. According to his data, approval of his performance has fallen to 34%, marking the lowest level so far in his second term. Historical.
Pew researchers clearly highlight that the president “has lost ground in a variety of personal attributes and management areas,” reflecting a constant erosion in public perception. Its data was already low due to its tariff policy and the price increase that it has caused, due to the splashes of the case of the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein or due to police violence by ICE, but it has worsened even more with the start of the war against Iran.
He is already considered a “historically unpopular” leader, with levels of disapproval that not only hinder his agenda, but threaten to reconfigure the political map towards the midterm elections.
One of the most significant findings of the survey is the collapse in the perception of the Republican’s integrity. He, who says that he has no compass but his “morality”, and that is enough. Currently, only 38% of Americans believe that Trump “keeps his promises”, a figure that has fallen sharply from the 51% registered after his re-election in November 2024.
According to historical records, no modern president who has sought re-election or attempted to maintain control of Congress for his party has operated with such a narrow margin. CNN has consulted several experts and they maintain that Trump “has failed to expand his base beyond a loyal core,” leaving him vulnerable to any economic fluctuation or international crisis.
Likewise, confidence in his cognitive abilities has been eroded: only 44% describe him as “mentally sharp”, four points less than in August last year. Speculation about his mental health, at 79 years old, has skyrocketed in recent months due to the ramblings and eccentricities in his appearances, which seem to go beyond his verbiage and his personality.
Other personal traits also show a downward trend, since for example only 34% of those interviewed consider him honest (compared to 42% previously). He is a “role model” only for 26%. Although 64% still believe that they “stand up for what they believe in,” this figure has also fallen from the 68% recorded by Trump last summer.
Skepticism extends to key areas of his agenda. Only 41% of citizens trust his decision-making regarding immigration policy (compared to 53% after his re-election), and only 38% believe that he will use military force prudently. That was one of his main campaign promises in 2024: that he would not involve the country in wars in distant and unknown places, that he would not bury soldiers, that he would save money from conflicts prudently to make “America great again.” In economic matters, confidence stands at 42%.
The poll underscores a bleak view of Washington’s ethical regeneration: 56% of Americans say levels of “ethics and honesty in the federal government” have fallen during this term. This perception is deeply polarized: while 88% of Democrats denounce this decline, only 23% of Republicans agree. Conservatives’ loyalty to the MAGA movement and Trump as its top leader remains, despite everything.
And yet, the Pew Center warns that the fall is not only external, but affects sectors that supported him in the last elections. “Trump’s young and Hispanic voters are now substantially less likely than his older, white voters to approve of his performance,” it states. Among his voters under 35 years of age, approval is 57%. Among Hispanic voters who voted for him, support has fallen to 66%. Even among those who did not vote in 2024, his approval has fallen from 45% in early 2025 to a meager 26% today.
Federal agents break a car window to try to arrest a man during an immigration raid, on December 17, 2025, in Chicago (USA).
The debate today is whether Trump has overestimated his political capital by trying to impose measures that even sectors of his own coalition are beginning to question.
This discontent does not necessarily benefit the opposition. It is widespread and affects the entire political class. The survey highlights that Americans maintain a negative view of both formations: 58% have an unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party (that of Trump) and 59% of the Democratic Party (that of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, which today lacks leadership and a candidate for the 2028 presidential elections).
Furthermore, there is clear resistance to consensus. 76% of Republicans prefer that Trump push his policies without seeking compromises, while 81% of Democrats demand their leaders “press hard against Trump’s policies.” In this climate of confrontation, the possibility of finding “common ground” seems, according to the data, an increasingly distant goal for American society.
Unknown terrain
And all this, when mid-term legislative elections are held in November, in which the liberals hope to take seats from the conservatives and end the control they currently have of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Trump finds himself in uncharted territory for a sitting president, given that combination of low approval and high polarization. There is a widespread perception that the president has prioritized confrontation over management, which explains why 56% believe that government ethics have worsened under his command.
Regarding the opposition, it stands out that the Democrats are “forced by their base to total resistance”, with 81% of their voters demanding that they not give an inch to the policies of the White House. It will be decisive in the face of those elections. It is already being noticed in the hardening of the tone of some of its most prominent figures, such as Gavin Newsom, the governor of California.
The US finds itself facing a scenario of political paralysis fueled by mutual disdain, where the president does not have the popular strength to advance and the opposition does not have the incentive to collaborate. There are tough months left.
