President Donald Trump's approval rating has seen a "complete inversion," polling expert G. Elliott Morris stated in his Strength In Numbers blog published on Tuesday (May 6).

Morris compared Trump's current YouGov polling numbers to the website's first poll conducted during his second of two non-consecutive terms in January. The president is reported to have seen a 33% decline in net approval rating among people who consume the least news during the past three months, dropping from +12 to -21, as well as a 14-point decrease from +3 to -11 among people who say they pay attention to the news "most of the time."

"If YouGov is right, the people who pay the least attention to the news and are the least involved in the political process are now the least likely to support Trump, rather than the most likely," Morris wrote. "That is a complete inversion of the relationship between engagement and support for Trump in 2024, and a return to the old dynamic of less-informed/engaged voters being systematically more friendly to Democratic candidates and causes.

"But I’m not sure this is a political shift, so much as it is the result of a mass of voters conditioning their support for the president on economic conditions, especially recent local economic indicators (especially inflation), regardless of which party is in charge."

Trump's approval ratings were reported to be shifting in the wrong direction leading up to his 100th day in office last week, Decision Desk HQ reported. The website's data shows that Trump has seen a downward trend since taking office with his current approval rating at 44.5%, a significant decrease from his initial 56% approval rating when he took office in January, a 50.7% approval rating on February 14, and a 47.3% approval rating on March 23. The president's disapproval rating, which is currently at 53.2%, has consistently increased from the 39% when he took office in January, the 46.8% on February 14 and the 50.4% on March 24.

Trump's approval rating was reported to be hovering between 39% and 45% in three different surveys, all of which are significantly lower than every other president elected since 1953. The president is reported to have a 39% approval in the latest Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll; a 41% approval rating in the latest CNN/SSRS poll; and a 45% approval rating in the latest NBC News Stay Tuned Poll.

All three polls showed a significant decline from the high favorability ratings Trump had when he took office in January, with many claiming to have lost confidence in his ability to handle the economy, a key focus during his re-election campaign in 2024. Trump's handling of the economy is down to an all-time low 39%, which he had previously hit during his first term and again in March, while only about 52% of respondents are confident in his ability to deal with the economy, a decrease of 13 points since December, according to the latest CNN/SSRS poll.

An estimated 72% of respondents in the Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll said they believed it was "very" or "somewhat" likely that Trump's policies would lead to a short-term economic recession. The majority of respondents in the NBC News poll said they disapproved of the president's handling of trade and tariffs (61%) and inflation and cost of living (60%) during his first 100 days in office.

Emery Songer