Trump touts 'great poll numbers' as new average puts his approval at 38%

Donald Trump’s post came as Nate Silver and Harry Enten highlighted worsening approval trends tied to the Iran conflict and the economy
President Donald Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning to the White House on August 2 (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Donald Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning to the White House on August 2 (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON, DC: President Trump posted on Truth Social about some "great poll numbers" and added "Thank you!!!" together with three exclamation points, but he did not say which poll he was referring to. The fact that he omitted this detail stood out as the current state of polling showed things to be much less favorable for the president.

The New York Times' average of a number of polls showed that Trump's disapproval rating was 59% by Saturday, three points higher than the figure at the beginning of the Iran conflict. During that same period, his approval rating had dropped from 41% to 38% in that average.

Nate Silver says Trump's approval hits a new second-term low

In a recent analysis, statistician Nate Silver explained just how poor the figures were, pointing out that Trump's approval rating of 38.1% represented the lowest point of his second term.



“After rebounding slightly earlier in the month, Donald Trump’s net approval rating has now hit a new second-term low of -20.6.”

Silver stated, and he added that his disapproval rating is "dangerously close to exceeding 60 percent, while only 21 percent of Americans strongly approve of the way he is handling his duties."

Silver also made a comparison with Trump's first term, observing that at this stage back then his net approval rating had been 9.3 points higher, specifically at -11.3, which means that Trump's present position is now worse than at any time during his first term, when his lowest point had been -19 after the January 6 Capitol riot.

Harry Enten highlights steep drops on Iran and the economy

On Saturday, CNN's chief data analyst Harry Enten also commented on some of Trump's "biggest drops" in recent polling.

President Donald Trump speaks at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC, Friday, July 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump addressed the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington on July 24 (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

He referred to sharp declines linked with the Iran war and the economy, and at one time proposed that Trump should call a random American to obtain an unfiltered view of the war, estimating that there was a 75% chance the person would say that the conflict had been mishandled.

With regard to the economy, Enten stated that the figures were even more striking, noting, “I went back through the history books… no president before President Trump had a negative 50 point or worse net approval rating on inflation,” Enten said.

Trump's Truth Social post did not identify a specific pollster or survey, leaving open the question of which numbers he considered "great" at a moment when the major public tracking averages pointed in the opposite direction.

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