PODCAST:
May 21, 2026 ~ Political science professor Dave Dulio discusses President Trump’s declining approval ratings, what’s driving the drop, and what it could signal heading into the next political cycle.
WASHINGTON, D.C. ~ United States’ President Donald Trump is seeing some of the lowest approval ratings of his second term, plunging below 40% in national support. While his influence with a national audience weakens, his grip on the Republican Party remains strong after ousting Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie for Ed Gallrein.
However, Trump hovered around this rating in his first term as he has a very dedicated base, but recent decisions in Iran have caused Independents to distance themselves. As partisan politics become more extreme, the rise of the Independent voter has become hard to ignore.
“The last end-of-year data we have from Gallup, both Republicans and Democrats had only 27% of Americans calling themselves members of each of those parties, while the rest, well over 40%, called themselves Independent,” Political science professor Dave Dulio said on All Talk.
