PresidentDonald Trumphas been in office for just more than seven months, and his approval ratings by many measures have plateaued after alow coinciding with the Jeffrey Epstein scandal in July. WhileCongress has been on recessthroughout August, Trump has deployed theNational Guard in D.C.to combat crime and homelessness, and threatened to do so in other cities. He also implemented newtariffs against several countries. Recent polls show that Americans arebecoming more partisan, and havestronger feelingsabout Trump's job performance than in the past. So what do Americans think? Here is what to know: Can Trump run for a third term?Newsom says president's team sent him 'Trump 2028' hats RealClearPoliticsPoll Average shows Trump's approval rating was becoming more negative throughout the first few weeks of July before buoying toward the end of the month and staying steady over the last month. Aggregated polls by theNew York Timesshow a similar trend. As of Jan. 27, Trump received a +6.2 percentage point approval rating, but as of March 13, it flipped to slightly negative, theRealClearPolitics graphics show. The approval rating reached its most negative on April 29 at -7.2 percentage points, which fell around Trump's 100-day mark. It came close to that low again on July 22 and 23 at -7.1 percentage points, as the controversy over Epstein carried into its third week. His average approval rating margin as of Aug. 29, according to RealClearPolitics, is -5 percentage points. The approval margin according to the New York Times aggregator on Aug. 29 is -8 percentage points. A historical analysis byGallup shows Trump's approval ratingsin August of his first years in office − both as the 45th and 47th presidents − are lower than any other modern president at the same time in their administrations. In a Gallup poll conducted from Aug 1-20, 40% approved of Trump's job performance. Here is how that compares to other presidents in August of their first year of their term, according to Gallup: Joe Biden(August 2021) - 49% approve Trump (August 2017) - 36% approve Barack Obama (August 2009) - 53% approve George W. Bush (August 2001) - 56% approve Bill Clinton (August 1993) - 44% approve George H.W. Bush (August 1989) - 69% approve Ronald Reagan (August 1981) - 60% approve The Augustpollplaces the president in what has been a summer-long approval rating plateau that has at timesdipped to historically low levels. These numbers are largely driven by nearly-unanimous Republican support, overwhelming Democratic opposition and weakening levels of support from independents, further underlining the partisan nature of support for Trump and his second term. According to a Reuters/Ipsospollconducted Aug. 22-24, 40% approve and 54% disapprove of Trump's job performance. The poll surveyed 1,022 U.S. adults with a margin of error of ±3 percentage points. The poll echoed the approval numbers seen in its last four consecutive surveys since late-June, marking little change throughout. Thesurvey found a similar plateauwhen it came to two of Trump's key policy issues, immigration and the economy. Among respondents, 37% approved of his performance on the economy, with 55% disapproving. Immigration garnered slightly higher numbers, at 43% approving and 51% disapproving. Pollsters found 38% of Americans support using troops for law enforcement in the U.S. capital, with 46% opposed. The rest were unsure or declined to answer the question. AnEconomist/YouGov pollsurveyed 1,523 U.S. adult citizens between Aug. 22-25, 56% of respondents disapproved of how Trump is handling his job, compared to 41% who approved. The poll asked if Trump had been too forceful in implementing his agenda in seven areas, and in each one, more respondents said he went too far than "about right" or "not gone far enough." When it came to tariffs, 52% of Americans said Trump has gone too far, compared to 31% who said it was just right and 9% who thought it was not far enough. The poll was taken days before Trump's doubled tariffs ongoods from Indiatook effect, placing duties up to 50% on some goods from the country. Contributing: Reuters Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social. Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her atkapalmer@usatoday.comand on X @KathrynPlmr. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:What is Trump's approval rating? August poll shows historic comparison
