President Donald Trump is facing a challenge that can’t be dismissed as just media bias. A new Fox News poll, conducted by both Democratic and Republican polling firms, shows his job approval at 39%, just one point above the lowest rating he has received from Fox.
The poll highlights widespread dissatisfaction with Trump’s handling of inflation, the economy, immigration, and Iran. For Republicans, these results point to economic frustration shaping the upcoming 2026 midterm elections.
Trump’s Approval Remains Underwater
The Fox News national survey found that 39% of registered voters approved of Trump’s job performance. This rating has remained steady for the third month in a row and is slightly above the 38% low he reached in October 2017.
Immigration was Trump’s strongest issue, yet he still faced considerable disapproval. Forty-two percent approved of his immigration policies, while 57% disapproved. His ratings on Iran were even worse, with 34% approval and 66% disapproval, and on the economy, where 33% approved and 67% disapproved.
Inflation showed the clearest warning sign. Only 27% approved of Trump’s performance, while 73% disapproved.
These numbers matter because Trump’s comeback was partly based on his promise to restore affordability. Many voters do not believe he has kept that promise. Democrats now lead Republicans by 10 points on inflation and by nine points on the economy.
Economic Pain Dominates the Poll
Around three-quarters of registered voters gave the economy a negative rating. Another 75% said inflation had hurt them financially, including 34% who described their situation as serious. That serious-hardship figure rose from 26% last year.
Fifty-four percent expected the economy to get worse in the next year. While Republicans remained hopeful, 75% of Democrats and 64% of independents anticipated a downturn.
Trump needs voters to believe his policies are improving their lives, but the Fox poll suggests many see it differently.
A June Fox News survey found that only 12% felt they were improving financially, while 44% felt they were falling behind. The July results indicate that the frustration is not just a passing issue.
Who Answered the Fox News Poll?
The survey ran from July 17 to July 20, 2026, under the guidance of Beacon Research, a Democratic firm, and Shaw & Company Research, a Republican firm.
Fox polled 1,003 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Of those, 681 participated through live interviews on cellphones, 70 answered via landline, and 252 completed the survey online after receiving a text invitation.
The poll included an additional sample of voters aged 18 to 29, increasing that subgroup to 350. Fox weighted the results according to age, race, education, and geographic variables so the total sample accurately reflected the national registered-voter population.
This distinction is important. The poll represents registered voters, not all adults in the United States and not only those who voted for Trump or participated in the 2024 election.
The margin of sampling error was plus or minus three percentage points. Trump’s 39% approval rating should not be seen as perfectly accurate, but that doesn’t mean the poll could be wrong by any significant amount.
Pew Research Center methodologist Andrew Mercer explained the limitation in a guide to understanding polling margins of error: “Because surveys only talk to a sample of the population,” the outcome will not match what would be found by interviewing everyone.
A Warning, Not an Election Prediction
An approval poll does not predict how every respondent will vote. Some who disapprove of Trump may still vote Republican due to party loyalty or dissatisfaction with Democrats.
Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who helps conduct Fox News polls, warned that Americans from both parties are becoming increasingly distrustful of the system. “Both think elected officials answer to the elites, both think the system is rigged,” he said.
The poll showed Democrats ahead on the generic House ballot with 53% to 46%, their best percentage in Fox’s version of the question since 1996. Democratic voters were also more likely to identify as extremely motivated to vote compared to Republicans.
The strongest message is not that Trump has lost his core supporters. Rather, his coalition is no longer enough to instill confidence in the broader public. When a Fox News poll shows only a third approving of a Republican president’s economic management, the White House cannot dismiss the result as simply liberal polling.
Trump’s political risk lies at home. Voters evaluate him based on grocery bills, housing costs, insurance premiums, and wages that feel insufficient. Unless these experiences improve, Trump’s approval rating may be the least of the Republican Party’s challenges in November.