A week before midterms, Trump approval at 32% as Democrats lead poll
Trump's approval rose one point in a Reuters/Ipsos poll, with Democrats holding a clear lead. Trump said he would accept the results only if the elections are "honest."
Symbolic image · Photo: Martin Falbisoner / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
A week before the Nov. 3 congressional elections, President Donald Trump's approval rating has edged up. A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed Monday found 32% of Americans approve of his performance, up one point from the previous week's record low. The online survey questioned 1,679 adults, including 1,280 registered voters, and has a margin of error of 2 percentage points for all adults and 3 points for registered voters.
Asked which party they want in charge of Congress, registered voters favored Democrats 47% to 36%, with 11% undecided. Among likely voters, Democrats led 53% to 44%. Such national figures do not capture individual district races, where Republicans hold some structural advantages. Some 73% of voters said the cost of living is heading in the wrong direction, after inflation rose following the strikes on Iran that Trump ordered in February.
Trump said Tuesday, as he headed to Texas to campaign, that he would respect the results "if they're honest elections." Agence France-Presse described the remark as a fresh hint at baseless claims of voter fraud. He said he would work with Democrats if Republicans lose Congress but stressed his "strong" veto power. The poll found 46% of Democrats very enthusiastic about the midterms, compared with 30% of Republicans.