Fox News poll: Trump approval 39%

Fox News published a national poll on May 21 showing President Donald Trump with 39% job approval and 61% disapproval, according to the network’s report and a social-media post highlighting the findings. Fox News said the survey found Trump’s standing had weakened as voters grew more negative about the economy and other major issues. The same poll put Trump’s approval on the economy at 29%, a lower figure than his overall job rating. The network said the survey was conducted May 15-18 among 1,002 registered voters. ### Where did the 39% figure come from? Fox News reported on May 21 that its latest national survey found Trump at 39% approval and 61% disapproval. A post on X circulating the results on May 20 cited the same topline numbers and pointed readers to the Fox News item. Newsweek, summarizing the Fox poll, said the 39% figure marked Trump’s lowest approval in Fox’s polling during his presidency and described the 61% disapproval number as a high in that series. (foxnews.com) The Fox News report said the poll was based on interviews with 1,002 registered voters conducted from May 15 through May 18. That field period matters because it places the survey after weeks of voter concern about prices and affordability that Fox said were weighing on the president’s ratings. (foxnews.com) ### How bad was the economy number? Fox News said Trump’s approval on the economy was 29%, with 71% disapproving. Ground News, summarizing the Fox report, said the economy number fell as more than three-quarters of voters rated national economic conditions poorly and cost of living became the dominant economic concern in the survey. (foxnews.com) Fox Business reported in an earlier Fox poll from November 2025 that Trump’s economy approval then stood at 38%, with 61% disapproving. That comparison shows the May 2026 Fox reading was lower than the network’s own prior measure by nine percentage points. (ground.news) ### What were voters saying was driving the discontent? Fox News said affordability was the central issue in the new survey, with voters increasingly pessimistic about the economy. Ground News’ summary of the Fox poll said 58% of voters named the cost of living as their top economic worry, ahead of government spending, jobs and tariffs. Fox also said more than three-quarters of voters described the economy as being in bad shape. (foxbusiness.com) Newsweek reported that the Fox poll also showed erosion in Republican support, saying Trump’s approval among Republicans had fallen to an all-time low in Fox’s polling. The magazine said that dynamic could complicate Republican positioning ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, though that interpretation was Newsweek’s, not Fox’s. (foxnews.com) ### How does this fit with other recent polling? Forbes reported on May 19 that a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Trump at 35% approval, near a record low for his second term. USA Today reported on May 1 that Trump’s ratings had been fluctuating across surveys as the economy and foreign policy weighed on public opinion. Those polls are separate from Fox’s survey, but they show the Fox result landing in a broader run of weak numbers for the president. (newsweek.com) RealClearPolitics commentator Tom Bevan, discussing the Fox poll on May 20, said there was “no good news” for Republicans or Trump in the survey and that the president’s approval ratings were at all-time lows. That was Bevan’s characterization of the poll’s implications. (forbes.com) ### What comes next from this poll? Fox News said the survey was released on May 21 after interviews conducted May 15-18 among 1,002 registered voters. The immediate next step is likely broader pickup by campaigns, party strategists and media outlets as they parse the topline numbers and issue ratings heading into the 2026 midterm cycle. Fox’s published poll report is the primary source for the crosstabs and methodology behind the 39% overall approval and 29% economy approval figures. (realclearpolitics.com) (foxnews.com)