A new exit poll shows Donald Trump has the lowest job approval rating of any sitting president on Election Day in nearly two decades, as midterm results are set to be declared. Only 38 per cent of voters said they approve of Trump's performance, according to early results from the NBC News Exit Poll.
Analysts have described the figures as the worst for a president 'since polling began', with political scientist Professor Rob Ford discussing the findings during a Sky News segment. The approval rating is significantly lower than in Trump's first midterm election in 2018, when 45 per cent of voters approved of his performance.
Voters View Midterms as a Rebuke
Nearly half of voters said they see the midterm election as an opportunity for a major condemnation of Trump's performance. Some 43 per cent of voters said one reason for their vote was to show opposition to Trump, much higher than the number who said the same in the 2018 midterm election during his first term.
Trump's approval ratings have dropped in Senate battleground states, with majorities of Senate voters in Georgia, Ohio, Michigan and Texas all saying they disapprove of his handling of the job, also up compared with 2018.
Economy and Inflation Dominate Concerns
The economy is proving to be a key issue for voters, with the NBC polling showing that most voters said inflation is causing hardship for their families, with the affordability of gas, food and utilities being a significant concern. Voters blamed Trump for high prices and said his policies are making the economy worse, according to the exit poll.
The poll was conducted as voters left polling locations across the US on Election Day. Results also include extensive interviews by phone, mail and online with people who voted early or by mail.
Campaign Impact and Outlook
The early results show that Trump's midterm campaign in recent weeks to support fellow Republicans has failed to improve his own approval ratings and has also not done much to boost support for Republican candidates. Voters expressed more unfavorable than favorable views of both the Republican and Democratic parties.
Trump has remained publicly optimistic about the results, spending the day supporting dozens of Republican candidates in a series of Truth Social posts and sharing links directing voters to polling information. However, US outlets have cited sources in Trump's camp as saying he has 'privately conceded' that his party may be facing the 'worst case scenario'.
Democrats need to flip four seats in the Senate and three seats in the House to gain control of the chambers from Republicans. The key Senate battlegrounds are in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Texas.
