Trump's approval rating drops among white working-class voters Polls shown declining approval for President Donald Trump

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Trump's approval rating drops among white working-class voters
Polls shown declining approval for President Donald Trump among white working-class voters and rural voters, but that doesn't mean they're all swinging to Democrats in the midterms.



USA TODAY Updated July 12, 2026, 9:42 a.m. ET


Approval for former President Donald Trump is slipping among white working‑class and rural voters, driven by higher food and gas costs tied to the Iran war and tariffs, which could weaken Republican turnout in the 2026 midterms even though many still back the party.

When Ashton Reed voted for President Donald Trump in 2024, he was drawn by Trump’s vow to recharge the economy and curb the inflation that many around his hometown of Jackson, Missouri, blamed on then-President Joe Biden.

Reed, 22, who has worked at an auto equipment factory and a heating and air conditioning company, has since seen prices rise and a war in Iran of the kind Trump promised to avoid. He also has been uneasy about Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.

A few months ago, Reed priced an Affordable Care Act health insurance plan for his wife and discovered it was too expensive after Trump and congressional Republicans allowed pandemic-era subsidies to expire. More recently, Reed, who does not have a four-year college degree, was laid off from his HVAC job.

“A huge chunk of why I voted for him in 2024 was because of economics,” Reed said of Trump. “Obviously not happy with him at all'..............