63% of Americans don’t like Trump – CNN poll

One year before the midterm elections, the Democratic Party holds a notable enthusiasm advantage as approval of President Donald Trump continues to fall, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

The autumn of 2025 is not a repeat of 2017, the year before Democrats took control of the US House during Trump’s first term.

The Democrats’ five-point lead among registered voters in the generic congressional ballot is smaller than the 11-point edge they held in CNN polling a year before the 2018 midterms.

Favourable views of the party remain close to record lows, eight points below where they stood in the autumn of Trump’s first year in office.

In a midterm election year, however, perceptions of the president can outweigh attitudes toward the opposition. Trump’s approval rating in the poll is 37 per cent, the lowest of his second term in CNN polling, and similar to the 36 per cent recorded at the same point in his first term.

His disapproval rating stands at 63 per cent, the highest of either term and one point above the 62 per cent recorded as he left office in January 2021.

CNN’s Poll of Polls average, which places Trump’s approval slightly higher at 41 per cent as of Sunday, shows a similar trend since January. Approval has fallen across party and demographic lines since the summer.

Looking ahead to next year’s midterms, Democrats appear to have a modest but early advantage. Forty-seven per cent of registered voters say they would vote for the Democrat in their district if the election were held today, while 42 per cent favour the Republican.

More voters say they have ruled out supporting a Republican (42%) than those who say the same about a Democrat (35%).

Forty-one per cent say their vote would send a message of opposition to Trump, nearly double the 21% who say their vote would show support for him. Independents lean toward Democrats on the generic ballot (44% to 31% for Republicans, with 19% undecided).

Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are far more likely than Republican-aligned voters to say they are extremely motivated to vote next year (67% compared with 46%).

Those Democratic voters who see the state of democracy as a top concern are especially energised: 82% in that group say they are deeply motivated to vote, compared with 57% among those who prioritise the economy.

CNN’s findings suggest that despite the party’s ongoing image challenges, these issues may not result in defections at the ballot box.

Democratic-aligned voters remain less enthusiastic about their own party (65% have a favourable view of the Democrats) than Republican-aligned voters are about theirs (80% have a favourable view of the GOP).

Yet even Democratic-aligned voters who view their party negatively still largely back Democratic candidates in their districts (93%) and remain motivated to vote (71% say they are extremely motivated).

Overall, Democrats hold a 12-point advantage among voters who say they are extremely or very motivated to turn out next year.

Americans remain broadly dissatisfied with the direction of the country (68% say things are going badly) and the state of the economy (72% say it is in poor shape, and 47% call the economy and cost of living the top issue facing the US). Around six in ten (61%) believe Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions.

Roughly eight in ten consider the ongoing federal government shutdown to be a crisis (31%) or a major problem (50%), and 61% disapprove of Trump’s handling of it.

Nearly as many disapprove of how congressional leaders in both parties are managing the situation (58% disapprove of each). Taken together, about nine in ten Americans disapprove of at least one of the three main actors in the shutdown.

A majority of Americans hold negative views of Trump’s performance on several other major issues. Most (56%) say his foreign policy decisions have harmed America’s standing in the world, and 57% believe he has gone too far in deporting immigrants living in the US illegally.

About a quarter of Americans (26%) identify the state of US democracy as the top national issue. Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, that figure rises to 45%, followed by the economy and cost of living at 38%.

More Americans now say Trump has overreached in his use of presidential power — 61%, up nine points since February.

Regarding his decision to dismantle the East Wing of the White House, 54% say they are dissatisfied or angry, with only 10% satisfied or pleased. Another 36% (including nearly half of Republicans) say the issue does not matter much to them.

Most Americans also believe that Republicans in Congress are doing too much to support Trump (55%, up from 48% in February).

The Republican base, however, remains content: 63% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say their representatives are offering the right level of support to Trump, about the same as earlier this year.

On the Democratic side, views are more divided. Four in ten say Democrats in Congress are not doing enough to oppose Trump, and among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, 69% share that view.

The CNN poll was conducted by SSRS both online and by telephone from October 27 to 30 among a random national sample of 1,245 adults, including 954 registered voters.

The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points for the full sample and 3.6 points for registered voters