The president’s net approval rating among the middle class declined from -10 in October (43 percent approve, 53 percent disapprove) to -12 in November (43 percent approve, 55 percent disapprove), and further to -17 in December (40 percent approve, 57 percent disapprove).

Trump's approval rating fall after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Here's what voters are more concerned about.

CNN’s chief data analyst revealed that Trump’s ranking of independent voters has caused the massive drop. “Now, what has driven Donald Trump’s decline in his net approval rating? Well, it’s independents. That is the name of the game, baby,” he said, before crunching the numbers.

According to RealClearPolling's aggregated rolling analysis, Trump’s 43.9 percent approval rating on January 6, 2026, has overtaken Bush’s 43.6 percent from the same day in his second term and Obama's 42.4 percent at the same time in his second four years in the White House.