Trump’s approval rating hits lowest level across his first and second terms; he again raises ‘election fraud’ claims

[Financial News] With the November midterm elections about two weeks away, U.S. President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level across his first and second terms. He has again raised claims of election fraud and focused on campaigning in the final stretch.
According to foreign media outlets including the pan-Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera, French polling firm Ipsos said that 31% of respondents viewed Trump’s job performance positively in a poll released on the 19th (local time). That was down 1 percentage point from two weeks earlier and the lowest level across Trump’s first and second terms. The poll surveyed 1,679 adults, 1,279 of whom were registered voters.
Sixty-eight percent of respondents viewed Trump’s handling of economic policy negatively. Among Republican supporters, 37% said they disapproved of his economic policies. Asked, “If an election were held today, which party’s candidate would you vote for?”, 47% chose the Democratic candidate and 35% the Republican candidate.
The Democrats’ 12-percentage-point lead over the Republicans ahead of the midterms is their largest polling lead before a midterm election. In a poll two weeks earlier, the Democrats led by 7 points, with 44% support compared with 37% for the Republicans.
Also on the 19th, the Washington Post (WP) released the results of a poll it conducted with ABC. The poll was conducted from the 9th to the 13th among 2,545 U.S. adults. The WP reported that Trump’s job approval rating was 33%, its lowest level across his first and second terms, and was down 4 percentage points from its July poll.
Respondents to the WP poll also pointed to economic problems. Trump’s approval rating on economic policy was 28%, down 5 percentage points from 33% in July. His economic policy approval rating during the 2018 midterms, under his first administration, was 49%.
Despite his low approval rating, Trump is continuing his campaign. Beginning on the 19th, he plans to give speeches in Sioux City, Iowa; Wichita, Kansas; Clemson, South Carolina; Greenville, North Carolina; Macon, Georgia; and Fort Myers, Florida. The New York Times (NYT) noted that instead of campaigning in swing states, Trump plans to visit five House districts that he won by more than 20 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election.
Meanwhile, Trump again raised claims of election fraud in a post on the social media platform Truth Social on the 19th. “New Mexico should immediately change its name to ‘New America.’ We are America, not Mexico,” he wrote. “Maybe New Mexico will become honest again, too, about its notorious ‘election fraud.’” New Mexico is a Democratic stronghold where Republicans have not won a statewide election since 2016.
During the Labor Day weekend in early September, Trump posted on Truth Social a map of New Mexico with a red X over “Mexico” and “America” written in its place. He also called for a name change, saying, “New Mexico is one of the worst states for vote-rigging in history.” In addition, on the 19th, Trump shared on his Truth Social account a New York Post article pointing to the possibility of election rigging in California.
[email protected] Park Jong-won Reporter