Polls: Donald Trump's popularity drops

Even when Donald Trump does something well, he overdoes it, The Economist article begins.

Recent polls show that President Donald Trump's approval rating is falling, as more and more Americans disapprove of the way he is handling his job at the helm of the White House. When he returned as President, he appeared with positive numbers.

However, his approval ratings have fallen sharply in recent weeks, especially after the announcement of sweeping tariffs. Trump later backed away from the tariffs, announcing a 90-day pause on most of them.

The decline in the polls could hamper Trump's political influence in an already highly polarized climate and potentially hurt Republicans' chances in the 2026 election.

A new poll released by YouGov and The Economist found that Trump's approval rating is at 42% while disapproval has risen to 52%, a 10% gap. The poll was conducted from April 13 to 15, asking 1,512 people. The margin of error was 3.4%.

A week ago, Trump's approval rating was 43% and disapproval was 51%, with a gap of 8%. The poll was conducted from April 5 to April 8 among 1,741 people with a margin of error of 3.1%.

A previous YouGov/The Economist poll, conducted from March 30 to April 1, had the president's approval rating at 46% compared to a disapproval rating of 49%. The gap was 3%.

A week ago, in a poll conducted from March 22 to 25, Trump's approval rating was 48% with a disapproval rating of 46%. This was the last time the US president's approval rating was positive in YouGov/The Economist.

"Almost every president experiences a rapid decline in popularity shortly after taking office," D. Stephen Voss, a political science professor at the University of Kentucky, told Newsweek.

"Presidents rarely fulfill the hopes of all the people who helped elect them, partly because they can't deliver everything for all the voters," Voss said.

"Donald Trump is pleasing supporters who wanted him to shake things up dramatically, while appeasing voters who thought his second term would be more like his first."

Voss added that presidents typically experience a "honeymoon period" after elections.

“They get a honeymoon, a period of relatively high ratings, but a president’s honeymoon period tends to be quite short,” Voss said.