Driving the news: Nearly three-quarters of Americans say the economy is just fair or poor, according to a Fox News poll released Wednesday.
- Seven in ten voters say they feel like the situation in the country is out of control, according to a The Economist/YouGov survey conducted October 10-12.
- And according to a new AP/NORC poll, eight in 10 people want to see either a “substantial change” or a “complete and total upheaval” in the way the country is run. Among Republicans, 58% share these sentiments.
Zoom out: This national anxiety appears to be dampening the president’s approval. Fox News found that Trump’s approval rating on inflation, which recovered last month, is at a new low: 22%.
- His overall approval rating for his job also dropped to a new low in Fox News surveys for either term: 36 percent.
- Fox says the decline is largely driven by voters under 45, those with household incomes below $50,000, non-white voters and those without a college degree.
What they say: White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement provided to Axios that “President Trump and this administration’s understatement has proven the experts and pollsters wrong time and time again.”
Yes, but: Polls suggest that discontent does not necessarily translate into positive energy toward Democrats.
- According to AP/NORC, many more voters say they are somewhat or very pessimistic about the future of the Democratic Party (47%) than those who say they are optimistic (21%).
- About half say they are pessimistic about the Republican future, while about 23% say they are optimistic.
Always, Fox found that if the election were held today, 54% of voters would support the Democrat in their district, while 45% would support the Republican – a wider lead for Democrats than the month before.
- Additionally, Fox found that Republicans have lost ground to Democrats in winning voters’ trust on key issues like inflation and foreign policy.
Between the lines: Republicans know they are playing defense in an uphill battle in the midterms.
- They have flooded the airwaves in once-safe states and are running ads in what appear to be a lost cause. Hans Nichols of Axios reports.
- But it’s not smooth sailing for Democratic leaders: They still face tough races and risk welcoming a new rebel caucus to Washington that says it’s ready to thwart the party.
The bottom line: Pollsters don’t have a crystal ball — and whether Americans’ discontent will translate into midterm upheaval won’t be clear until after the vote.
Go further: Americans are losing confidence in their fellow citizens
Methodology: The AP/NORC poll was conducted October 8-12, 2026. Online and telephone interviews via landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,119 adults – 1,070 via the web and 49 by phone. The overall margin of sampling error is +/-3.9 percentage points.
The Econmist/YouGov poll was conducted October 10-12, 2026, among 1,403 registered voters in the United States surveyed via online interviews. The overall margin of sampling error is +/-3.5 percentage points.
The Fox News poll was conducted October 9-12, 2026, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), among 1,202 registered voters nationwide. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (114) and cell phones (786) or completed the survey online by following a link received via text message (302). The overall margin of sampling error is +/-2.5 percentage points.
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