Presidential approval ratings are a measure of how Americans really feel about his job performance on any given day, often times driven by his handling of the issues at hand. Here’s how Trump is polling today — after this week’s tariff and stock market chaos.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump said if he can’t reach a deal with trading partners within the 90-day pause on last week’s tariff announcement, the tariff rates will go back up. Although he defended the tariffs in a meeting with his cabinet, he conceded that there were some issues in the rollout process.
Trump’s trade war with China escalated to 145% levy on Chinese imports and China retaliated with 125% on their imports of U.S. goods.
The president shared a Truthsocial media post on Friday morning, “We are doing really well on our TARIFF POLICY. Very exciting for America, and the World!!! It is moving along quickly. DJT”
Having launched a historic global trade war that set the stock market on rollercoaster week, Trump’s approval ratings were bound to change. His presidential approval rating remained steady over the first two months and even reached his all time highest rating in either of his terms.
However, his third month in office is showing that the American public’s opinion has soured amid the onslaught of tariffs and trade wars and the mounting fears of a possible recession.
According to the HarrisX polls, Trump’s approval rating has dropped 5 points since the tariffs announcement on April 2, with a 47% approval rating versus 49% disapproval. It further showed 54% of voters now think the economy is on the wrong track versus 37% think it’s on the right track with 10% not sure yet.
When asked about how voters felt about their personal financial situation, poll respondents showed 38% felt it was getting worse, with 31% saying it was improving and 29% said neither.
Interestingly, on the topic of tariffs as an effective foreign and economic policy, the public was fairly split with 49% claiming it was effective and 51% feeling it was not effective.
Amid this past week’s tariff turmoil, the Quinnipiac University Poll shows 72% of voters think tariffs will hurt the U.S. economy in the short-term while only 53% think the tariffs will hurt in the long-run and 41% think it will help the economy in the long-run.
The Quinnipiac poll also showed that voters are very split when it comes to how they view which political party cares more about their needs and problems, with 33% saying the Democratic Party, 33% saying the Republican Party, and 31% saying neither party. Note: among independents, 46% said neither party cares, 27% said the Democratic Party cared and 25% said the Republican party cared more.
Here’s what the most current polls show about Trump’s presidential ratings right now.
According to Rasmussen Reports daily polling, Trump has enjoyed over a steady job approval rating over over 50% on any given day since his inauguration — until April 3 — the day after the sweeping tariff announcement. His rating has since slipped lower every day to a current 47% approval and 51% disapproval.
The most recent Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found 49% of registered voters approved of Trump’s job performance, compared to 52% last month in same poll. Although the drop, he is still polling higher favorability over the 46% that disapprove.
This poll also found that 54% of voters think Trump is doing a better job than his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, noting that this figure is also lower than his 58% job approval last month over Biden.
According to the most current Reuters/Ipsos poll, 42% of approve of Trump’s job performance compared to 45% just a couple weeks prior. His overall rating remains higher than his first term and higher than what Biden polled during most of his administration.
Trump is still getting higher marks on the direction of his immigration policy with 48% approval versus 44% that disapprove. On the topic of how Trump was handling Russia 48% disapproved and on Ukraine, 46% disapproved, with many still not sure yet.
As for Vice President JD Vance, he has a 41% favorable view versus 49% unfavorable and special government agent Elon Musk showed a 39% favorable versus 57% unfavorable.
RealClear Polling which encompasses 15 different pollsters, including those mentioned above, shows Trump’s overall favorability dropping to 47.0% versus 50.2% that disapprove, as of today.
Note: Polls are constantly changing and different pollsters ask different varieties of the population. These numbers were reflected as of Friday, April 11, 2025 at 11 a.m.
Donald Trump approval rating today: Here's what polls say nearing three months on the job – Bergen Record
