HAMDEN – The March 13 Quinnipiac University poll of registered voters about President Trump’s job approval rating dropped to 42% in March. That is a three-point drop from February and a four-point decrease from January of the college’s previous polls.
The poll of 1,198 self-identified registered voters nationwide, which were surveyed March 6-10, has a margin of error if +/- 2.8 percentage points.
Seven weeks into President Donald Trump’s second term, 53% disapprove of the job he is doing while 6% did not offer an opinion. In Quinnipiac University’s Feb. 19 poll, 45% approved, while 49 percent disapproved and 6 percent did not offer an opinion and in Quinnipiac University’s Jan. 29 poll, 46% approved, while 43% disapproved and 11% did not offer an opinion.
“A noticeable uptick of discontent can be seen over President Trump’s handling of a range of issues: from Ukraine to the economy to the federal workforce,”said Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy.
Voters’ views about the economy are now at levels last seen in May 2023.
Twenty-three percent of voters describe the state of the nation’s economy these days as either excellent or good, while 76 percent describe it as either not so good or poor.
This is a change from Quinnipiac University’s December 2024 poll when 34% described the economy as either excellent or good and 64% described it as either not so good or poor.
As markets slide and investors worry in response to Trump’s trade policies, a 56% majority of the public disapproves of his handling of the economy, worse than at any point during his first term in office. By contrast, the 51% who now say they approve of his work on immigration – headlined by stricter enforcement efforts – is 7 points higher than at any point during his first term.
Americans are closely divided over Trump’s performance so far in handling the federal budget and managing the federal government – 48% approve on each, with about half disapproving – while giving him lower ratings for his work on health care policy (43%), foreign affairs (42%) and tariffs (39%).
Nearly 6 in 10 voters (58 percent) disapprove of the way President Trump handled the Feb. 28 recent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, while 35% approve. Sixty-two percent of voters think supporting Ukraine is in the national interest of the United States, while 29% it is not.
Other key findings
Sixty percent of voters disapprove of the way Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency are dealing with workers employed by the federal government, while 36% approve.
By a 60-33 count, voters oppose President Trump’s plan to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.
Sixty-nine percent of voters are concerned about the recent measles outbreak. Fifty-seven percent think that children who have not received standard vaccinations should not be allowed to attend schools and childcare facilities, while 35% think they should be allowed to attend schools and childcare facilities.
