Trump approval falls to 33% in FT poll

The poll, conducted from Aug. 28 to Sept. 1 among 1,914 registered voters, shows support for Trump down 3 percentage points from the previous month. Even inside his own party, approval slipped to 72%, the lowest level the poll has recorded, while only 53% of Republicans approved of how he handles jobs and the economy, down nearly 8 points.

That erosion is linked to anxiety over household finances. Almost two-thirds of voters said the U.S. economy is on the wrong track, and 57% said their personal finances are worse under Trump. The anti-Trump mood is also visible in trade policy, with 56% opposing a 50% tariff on Canadian goods, including more than 60% of independents and nearly a third of Republicans.

For investors, the significance is less about the approval number itself than about what it says on spending, tariffs and political capital. A weaker president faces greater resistance to aggressive trade action, while a divided electorate can amplify volatility around policy headlines that matter for importers, exporters and consumer-facing companies.

The midterm picture is also deteriorating for Republicans. The poll gives Democrats a 7.5-point lead in the race for Congress, and 46% of voters said Trump makes it harder for Republican candidates to win in November. Among independents, 47% said Trump backing a candidate would make them less likely to vote for that person.

Trump’s stock-linked media and branding vehicle, DJT, traded below its 50-day moving average in recent sessions, underscoring how political headlines can spill into the market even when the underlying business is unrelated to the polling. The next catalyst is whether the White House softens its tariff rhetoric or whether worsening voter sentiment continues to bleed into Republican fundraising and campaign positioning ahead of the midterms.