How has Trump's favorability rating changed? One group had big shift, poll finds

Brendan Rascius, The Charlotte Observer on May 13, 2025

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It’s now been over 100 days since President Donald Trump returned to the White House following his reelection. In that short time, he enacted a whirlwind of wide-ranging policies, including on immigration, trade and federal spending.

In response, his favorability rating among Americans has declined — particularly among one demographic, according to new polling.

In the latest Economist/YouGov survey, 45% of respondents said they have a favorable view of Trump, while 53% said they have an unfavorable view, putting him underwater with a net -8 rating overall.

This marks an 11-point shift from the start of his term in January, when 50% of poll respondents held a favorable opinion of the president and 48% held a negative opinion.

And, when the results were broken down by demographics, some noticeable patterns emerged — with the most striking change occurring among young Americans.

In the latest poll, Trump held a net -29 favorability rating with 18-29-year-olds, which is down from +5 in January, marking a dramatic 34-point shift. The result indicates that the country’s youngest voters have undergone a unique sea-change in their view on the president in recent months.

In contrast, the changes in other generations were far less pronounced.

Trump’s rating among 30-44-year-olds stands at net -2, which is up from -6 in January. And among 45-64-year-olds, it now stands at net 0, which is down from +12 in January. Lastly, Trump’s rating among those 65 and older is now at net -8 — down from -4 at the start of his term.

The poll — which sampled 1,786 U.S. adults May 9-12 — also found slight changes in favorability by race.

Among white Americans, the president’s net favorability rating is now +4, dropping from +13 in January.

Meanwhile, his rating is net -48 among Black Americans — down from -31 in January — and net -25 among Hispanic Americans — down from -12 at the beginning of the year.

The latest poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

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