NBC News Poll: 71% Say US on Wrong Track
The nbc news poll delivers the bleakest reading of the national mood yet in President Donald Trump’s second term: 71% of adults say the country is on the “wrong track,” the highest such margin since he returned to office. The survey, conducted for NBC News Decision Desk with SurveyMonkey, lands with just weeks to go until the November 3 midterm elections.
Approval Sinks to a Second-Term Low
Trump’s approval rating fell to 34% among U.S. adults — a second-term low in NBC polling — while his disapproval sat at 66%. More than half of respondents, 51%, said they “strongly disapprove” of the president’s performance, also a second-term high.
Among registered voters, the numbers were slightly better for the White House: 39% approve of the president’s job performance while 61% disapprove. The results roughly match other new lows recorded in a Washington Post-ABC News poll also released October 18 and a Fox News poll released October 14.
Voters Want Democrats to Control Congress
Fifty-five percent of registered voters in the NBC survey said they would choose Democrats over Republicans to control Congress during the final years of Trump’s second term — a warning sign for the GOP heading into Election Day.
Republicans are on defense in a series of Senate races this year, including in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio and Texas, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Midterms are typically rockier for the president’s party: in the 2018 “blue wave” during Trump’s first term, Democrats gained 41 House seats and flipped two Senate seats in Arizona and Nevada.
Both Parties Underwater
Americans hold a negative view of both major parties. Forty-three percent of adults view the Democratic Party favorably, compared with 57% who view it unfavorably. Just 37% of respondents view Republicans favorably while 63% hold an unfavorable view.
The NBC News Decision Desk poll surveyed 19,135 adults from September 28 to October 12 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
Source: USA Today