Growing Number of Americans Disapprove of Trump’s Handling of Government, AP-NORC Poll Finds

A survey by The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research was conducted after Democrats’ recent wins in off-year elections but before Congress took major steps to end the longest shutdown in U.S. history. It found that only 33% of U.S. adults approve of the way Republican President Donald Trump is managing the government, down from 43% in March.

The drop was largely due to lower approval among Republicans and independents. About two-thirds of Republicans (68%) said they approve of Trump’s government management, down from 81% in March. Approval among independents fell from 38% to 25%.

The results highlight the risks of the shutdown, which Trump and his administration have blamed on Democrats, even as many U.S. adults assign responsibility to both parties. The shutdown has disrupted air travel, left hundreds of thousands of federal workers unpaid, and affected food aid for vulnerable Americans. It may also reflect broader dissatisfaction with Trump’s other controversial actions, such as cutting agencies and ordering mass layoffs.

Republicans have mostly remained loyal to the president, making any decline in support particularly notable. Beverly Lucas, 78, a retired educator from Ormond Beach, Florida, compared Trump’s second term to “having a petulant child in the White House with unchecked power,” saying, “When people are hungry, he had a party,” referring to a Great Gatsby-themed Halloween event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club. “I thought he seemed callous.”

The survey found that 95% of Democrats disapprove of Trump’s federal government management, up from 89% in March.

Despite the decline in approval for government management, Trump’s overall approval rating remained steady. About 36% of U.S. adults approve of his overall handling of the presidency, similar to 37% in an October AP-NORC poll. Support for his handling of major issues like immigration and the economy has changed little.

Health care became a key issue during the shutdown as Democrats demanded negotiations on extending tax credits that expire January 1. Trump’s approval on this issue, already low, remained largely unchanged. About 34% of Americans approved of his handling of health care in November, compared with 31% in October.

Many of Trump’s supporters continue to back him. Susan McDuffie, 74, a retired Republican from Carson City, Nevada, said she has “great confidence in Trump” and believes the country is on the right track. She blames Democrats for the shutdown and its consequences. “I don’t understand how Democrats can care so little about the people,” she said, dismissing claims that they are using the shutdown to pressure Republicans on rising health care costs. “I have no patience for their lame excuses.”

Public opinion on the shutdown is mixed. While Republicans face some criticism, many also blame Democrats. Nora Bailey, 33, a moderate from Batesville, Arkansas, said, “I truly believe it’s everybody. Everybody is being stubborn.” Recently, she experienced delays in receiving a breast pump through a government program while her newborn was in intensive care and worries about her disabled parents who rely on SNAP benefits. She disapproves of Trump’s management of the federal government, citing insufficient efforts to reduce waste.

Trump’s approval for handling the federal government could rebound if the shutdown ends, but the standoff may have lasting effects on perceptions of his presidency, as approval on the economy and immigration has slightly declined since spring. Lucas, the Florida Republican, said unpaid government shutdowns are the wrong way to address ideological differences. “Air traffic controllers? Really? You want to not pay the people responsible for our lives every day? Conflicts should be addressed like intelligent people, not bullies.”

The AP-NORC poll surveyed 1,143 adults from November 6-10 using NORC’s AmeriSpeak Panel, which represents the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is ±3.8 percentage points.