It's been a wild ride. Honestly, looking at the CNN Trump approval rating today feels a bit like reading a weather vane in a hurricane. One minute the numbers look stable, and the next, they're swinging wildly based on the latest headline from the White House or a fresh tour of a Michigan auto plant.
As of January 2026, the data coming out of the latest CNN poll conducted by SSRS is... well, it's pretty grim for the administration. Only 39% of Americans currently approve of the job Donald Trump is doing. Compare that to the 58% who flat-out called his first year back in office a "failure." That’s a heavy word. Failure. It’s not just "disapproval"—it’s a systemic rejection of the direction things are heading.
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The Reality Behind the 39%
Numbers are boring without context.
When you dig into the CNN Trump approval rating, you see a massive divide that hasn't really healed since he was sworn back in. Among Republicans, he’s still a rockstar. We're talking 9 in 10 GOP voters sticking by him. But the middle? The independents? They’ve basically checked out. In the latest January 16, 2026 report, only about 32% of people think he’s actually "in touch" with the problems everyday Americans face.
It’s the economy, mostly.
People are feeling the squeeze at the grocery store and the gas pump, and they aren't convinced the current policies are helping. In fact, 55% told CNN that his policies have made economic conditions worse. That’s a tough pill to swallow when a huge part of the 2024 campaign was built on the promise of "fixing" what was broken under the previous administration.
Why 2026 is Different from 2017
You’ve gotta remember how he started. Back in January 2025, he actually had a bit of a honeymoon phase. RealClearPolitics had him at 50.5% approval right after the inauguration. People were hopeful. Or maybe they were just exhausted and wanted something to work.
But that "net positive" rating didn't even last three months. By March 13, 2025, it flipped.
Since then, it’s been a slow, steady slide. CNN’s Harry Enten—who is basically the king of dissecting these numbers—pointed out that Trump’s 41% approval at the 100-day mark was the lowest for any newly elected president since Eisenhower. And yes, that includes his own first term.
The "Failure" Factor in the Latest CNN Poll
The January 9-12, 2026 poll of 1,209 adults is the one everyone is talking about right now. Here’s a quick breakdown of where the sentiment is sitting:
- Overall Approval: 39%
- Voters calling Year 1 a failure: 58%
- Think he's doing enough on prices: 36% (roughly)
- Believe he puts country over self: 37%
It’s not just the broad "do you like him?" question anymore. It’s the specifics. About 64% of people say he hasn't gone far enough to reduce the prices of common goods. Even half of Republicans are starting to say, "Hey, maybe we should be doing more here."
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What’s Driving the Disapproval?
It’s a mix of old grudges and new headaches.
First off, the cost of living is the big elephant in the room. You can talk about GDP or "animal spirits" all you want, but if milk is five bucks a gallon, people are going to be mad at the guy in the Oval Office.
Then you’ve got the more... experimental policies. We’re seeing "Republican dissent" over the renewed pursuit of Greenland. Yeah, that’s back on the table. And the militarized immigration enforcement? It's popular with the base, sure, but it’s a huge turn-off for the swing voters in the suburbs who just want things to feel "normal" again.
Comparison: Trump vs. Biden vs. The Past
If you look at Ballotpedia’s tracking, by week 51 of his second term, Trump was at 42%. At that same point in his presidency, Joe Biden was at 42.6%. They're basically twins in terms of public sentiment at this stage.
But here’s the kicker: Trump’s disapproval is hitting peaks we haven't seen in a while. It notched up to 56% in November 2025, right around the time of the government shutdown and that whole mess with the Jeffrey Epstein files being released.
| President | Approval at 1 Year (Approx) |
|---|---|
| Donald Trump (2026) | 39% - 42% |
| Joe Biden (2022) | 43% |
| Barack Obama (2010) | 50% |
| George W. Bush (2002) | 86% (Post-9/11) |
The days of a president having 60% or 70% approval are probably dead and buried. We live in a 40/40/20 world now. 40% love you, 40% hate you, and the 20% in the middle are just waiting for something to go wrong so they can jump ship.
What Most People Get Wrong About Polling
One thing you’ll hear a lot is that "the polls are fake" or "they missed 2024."
Kinda. But not really.
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Polls are a snapshot, not a prophecy. The CNN Trump approval rating tells us how people feel right now. It doesn’t necessarily mean he couldn’t win an election tomorrow. Why? Because approval and "who would you vote for against a specific Democrat" are two very different questions.
A lot of people might "disapprove" of Trump’s personality or his tweets (or whatever we're calling them now), but they might still vote for him if they think the alternative is worse. That’s the "negative partisanship" that dominates our era.
The Enthusiasm Gap
Another thing to watch is intensity.
In the April 2025 CNN poll, only 22% said they "strongly approve" of his performance. Meanwhile, 45% said they "strongly disapprove." That’s a 2-to-1 ratio of haters to super-fans. When you have that much "strong" disapproval, it makes it really hard to pass legislation or get any momentum in Congress because everyone is afraid of the backlash.
Actionable Insights: How to Watch the Numbers
If you’re trying to keep track of where this is going, don’t just look at one poll. Here is how you should actually read the CNN Trump approval rating updates:
- Check the "Independent" number. If his support among independents stays below 30%, he’s in permanent "lame duck" territory regardless of what the GOP thinks.
- Look at "Issue Handling." Often, a president's overall approval is lower than their approval on specific issues like crime or trade. Trump usually performs better on "handling crime" (around 43%) than on his overall job performance.
- Wait for the Aggregates. CNN is one data point. Sites like RealClearPolitics or the New York Times aggregator smooth out the "noise" by averaging ten different polls together.
The next few months are going to be telling. Between the ongoing Greenland debate and the push for more tariffs on Mexico and Canada, these numbers are going to shift. Whether they shift up or down depends entirely on whether the average person feels like their bank account is finally catching a break.
To keep an eye on this yourself, you can track the weekly updates on Ballotpedia's Polling Index or wait for the next SSRS/CNN release, which usually drops once a month. Pay attention to the "Right Direction/Wrong Track" question—that’s often a better predictor of the future than the approval rating itself.
Currently, only about 37% of Americans think the country is headed in the right direction. Until that number moves, the approval rating is likely going to stay stuck in the mud.