A new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll out Wednesday, June 18, shows a record low share of Americans approve of President Trump’s job performance — and his handling of the economy – as the country heads into the summer before a key midterm election year.
The poll didn’t release specific approval numbers in the available summary, but the findings place Trump’s standing at its lowest point yet by the poll’s measure. Both his overall job performance and his management of economic issues drew historically weak marks, according to the NPR/PBS News/Marist survey.
The timing matters. Midterm elections tend to function as a referendum on the sitting president, and approval numbers at this stage of a term can shape which party controls Congress. A president sitting at record lows in the summer before a midterm cycle has historically faced headwinds for his party at the ballot box – though the NPR/Marist poll didn’t project specific electoral outcomes.
The poll was conducted by Marist College, which has run surveys in partnership with NPR and PBS News for years. Marist is one of the more closely watched academic polling operations in the country. The survey didn’t draw a response from the White House in the available reporting.
The full crosstabs and methodology from the June 18 NPR/PBS News/Marist poll had not been published in the summary available at press time.
Reporting by NPR. Read the original report.
