One in six. That’s roughly how many Americans now say they strongly back President Trump, according to a new Washington Post-Ipsos poll. For a president whose entire political brand has rested on an unbreakable core of supporters, this number tells a different story than the one that’s dominated political conversation for a decade.
Just 15% strongly approve of Trump. Sit with that for a second, because it’s the lowest this particular poll has ever recorded. Compare it to February 2025, right after Trump’s inauguration, when 27% strongly backed him. Or go back further, to the tense days following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Strong approval sat at 27% then too. Something has clearly shifted.
Here is What You Need to Know
Here’s where it gets interesting. According to a CNN News report, for the first time in this poll’s history, more people describe their support as “somewhat” approving (22%) than “strongly” approving (15%). That’s a meaningful crack in what used to be rock solid enthusiasm.
Look inside the Republican coalition and the picture gets messier. Only 41% of Republicans say they strongly approve. Among people who actually voted for Trump in 2024, that number is barely higher at 43%. Independents have all but abandoned him on this metric, with just 6% strongly approving against a striking 51% who strongly disapprove.
Then there’s the demographic Trump has leaned on more than almost any other: white voters without a college degree. Strong approval there sits at just 24%, hardly the overwhelming loyalty that’s often assumed.
It’s Not Just One Poll Saying This
Skeptics might point to a single survey and call it noise but that’s not what’s happening here. This Post-Ipsos result is at least the fourth recent high quality poll landing in the mid teens for strong approval.
Numbers vary by pollster, which is normal. Quinnipiac’s latest survey of registered voters found 27% strong approval, noticeably higher than the rest. But everywhere else tells a more consistent story: 21% in the NPR-PBS-Marist poll, 20% from Fox News, 19% in AP-NORC’s survey, 16% from Marquette Law School, 15% in Post-Ipsos, and 14% in Reuters-Ipsos, the lowest of the bunch.
The Bigger Picture
Some of these figures mark all-time lows. Others echo where Trump stood during the rockier stretches of his first term. Either way, a pattern emerges once you line the polls up side by side. Across most recent high quality surveys, strong approval for Trump now falls somewhere between one in seven and one in five Americans, a far cry from the intensely loyal, seemingly immovable base that’s shaped so much of the political narrative around him.