President Donald Trump’s standing in national polling has remained under pressure through late summer as economic concerns and issue-specific ratings weigh on his second term. That trend sharpened on September 15, when Marquette University Law School released a new national poll showing Trump at his lowest approval mark since returning to the White House in early 2025. The survey adds to a broader run of September polling that continues to place the president underwater with voters.
Marquette reports Trump at 37% approval in September survey
Marquette University Law School said in its September 15 national poll release that 37% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s job performance, while 63% disapprove. The survey was conducted from September 2 through September 9 among 1,023 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points. Marquette said that result was down from 40% approval in its July national poll and below the president’s prior second-term low of 38% in June.
The same release showed a continued drop in Trump’s strongest backing. Marquette reported that 15% of adults now say they strongly approve of the president’s performance, down from 29% at the beginning of his second term. The poll also found erosion across several policy areas that have helped define Trump’s political standing, including immigration, border security, tariffs, foreign policy and the economy.
Marquette’s September findings extended beyond presidential approval to the 2026 midterm environment. According to the poll, Democrats led Republicans 54% to 41% among likely voters on the generic congressional ballot, and 50% to 42% among registered voters. The release said inflation and cost of living remained the top issue concern for respondents, with only 19% approving of Trump’s handling of inflation and 20% approving of his handling of gas prices.
The survey came from Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee, giving Wisconsin a direct institutional connection to one of the week’s most closely watched national political data points. While the poll is national rather than state-specific, its release from a well-known Wisconsin polling operation gives the state an outsized role in the national conversation around Trump’s standing and the 2026 midterm map. Marquette has built a reputation for both Wisconsin and national polling, and its releases are closely followed by campaigns, donors and political operatives.
What the survey confirms is a measurable decline in Trump’s national approval and a larger Democratic edge in congressional preference than Marquette found in July. What it does not establish is how those numbers will translate in any individual state, including Wisconsin, where candidate recruitment, turnout and district-level dynamics can shift quickly. The poll also does not provide a forecast of election outcomes, only a snapshot of public opinion during the September 2-9 field period.
Other recent polling has pointed in a similar direction, though with some variation in topline numbers. Reuters/Ipsos reported on September 14 that Trump’s approval stood at 35%, up slightly from prior weeks in that series, while still leaving him in negative territory overall. Polling averages cited by outlets including The New York Times and RealClearPolitics have also shown Trump with approval below disapproval in mid-September.
Marquette’s own findings point to the issues hurting the president most. The poll said inflation and the cost of living remained the dominant voter concern, and it found especially weak marks for Trump on those measures. The president’s 19% approval on inflation and 20% approval on gas prices were among his lowest issue ratings in the survey, underscoring how economic frustration continues to shape broader views of his job performance.
That economic backdrop has been reinforced by conditions outside the poll. AAA listed the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline at $4.3672 on September 16, more than 14 cents above a week earlier and far above the level from a year ago. AAA said in its September 10 market update that crude oil volatility had pushed prices higher, a development that adds pressure to household budgets and keeps fuel costs visible for voters.
For residents and voters, the practical takeaway is that Trump enters the fall with weaker numbers in one of the country’s most closely watched national surveys and with economic concerns still dominating the public agenda. Marquette’s data does not determine election outcomes, but it does show where dissatisfaction is concentrated as the midterm cycle accelerates. The next set of national and state polls will test whether September 15 marked a temporary low point or a more durable shift in voter sentiment.