President Trump’s job approval has slipped among his party and Americans are growing more pessimistic about the country’s direction, according to a new survey — warning signs for Republicans heading into this year’s midterm elections.
Mr. Trump’s standing within his own party has eroded since the start of the year, according to the NBC News Decision Desk poll, with the share of Republicans giving him a positive job rating falling 4 percentage points to 83% and those who strongly approve dropping 6 points, from 58% to 52%.
Two-thirds of Americans say the country is heading in the wrong direction — the most pessimistic reading in Decision Desk polling since Mr. Trump returned to the White House — and his handling of the economy and the Iran war are dragging him down.
Sixty-eight percent of Americans disapprove of Mr. Trump’s management of inflation and the cost of living, including 52% who strongly disapprove — numbers that mirror his standing on Iran, where two-thirds similarly disapprove of his handling of the conflict.
Sixty-one percent said the United States should not take further military action against Iran.
The financial strain is reflected in how Americans view their own households. Four in 10 said their personal financial situation is worse than a year ago, while just 19% said it has improved — the weakest reading of the Trump second term.
Nearly two-thirds said rising gas prices have been a problem for their family.
The partisan divide is stark: 55% of Democrats and 46% of independents said their finances have worsened over the past year, compared to just 18% of Republicans.
The results arrive as Republicans defend their congressional majorities in November, with voter frustrations over the economy and the war presenting potential vulnerabilities on both fronts.
The poll was powered by SurveyMonkey and surveyed 32,433 adults from March 30 to April 13, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.
