President Donald Trump has been in office for more than one year in his second term. While stock market indexes have traded higher in the year time, the president’s approval ratings are hitting record lows to start 2026.
Trump’s Approval Rating Falls
Several voter polls have shown Trump to have a low approval rating early into 2026. A new The Economist/YouGov poll conducted Jan. 16 through Jan. 19 shows Trump losing ground with voters.
In the new poll, Trump’s approval rating stands at 37%, with a disapproval rating of 57%. This net approval of -20 is the lowest in Trump’s second term and the second lowest in the poll’s tracking history of Trump in the White House, narrowly better than -21 in November 2017.
Republican voters could be the reason for the latest drop in the approval rating, which stood at -14 in the prior week’s poll. Republican voters give Trump a 79% approval rating and 17% disapproval rating, down from 88% and 11%, respectively, in the prior poll. The +62 net approval from Republicans is the lowest in Trump’s second term.
The poll covered multiple topics for voters, including abolishing ICE, the shooting of Renee Good, military action in Venezuela, potential military action in Iran and Greenland, the Supreme Court ruling on tariffs and the Federal Reserve.
Here are some of the results from the poll most relevant to the stock market.
Trump’s Tariffs
Voters in the poll said they are paying higher prices due to tariffs placed on countries by Trump. Sixty-nine percent of voters said they are paying higher prices.
Even a majority of Republican voters (54%) say they are paying higher prices due to Trump’s tariffs.
A highly anticipated Supreme Court ruling on tariffs was one of the topics covered in the poll. Most voters in the poll (50%) believe the tariffs will be allowed, while only 18% believe the Supreme Court will rule against them.
While voters think the Supreme Court will rule in favor of Trump, 50% said they want the Supreme Court to strike down the tariffs, while only 31% want the tariffs to remain.
The Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve and interest rates remain key topics when discussing Trump, and for investors anticipating what will happen to the stock market in 2026 and beyond.
In the poll, 48% said they want the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, while 18% said they want rates to stay the same and 3% said they want higher rates.
The question was split by political party, with 35% of Democrats saying they wanted lower rates and 65% of Republicans saying they wanted lower rates.
An investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell by the Justice Department showed low approval in the poll.
Only 32% of voters strongly or somewhat approve of the investigation into Powell, while 38% disapprove. Fifty-seven percent of Republicans approve, while only 14% of Democrats approve. For Independent voters, 38% disapprove and 26% approve, while the other 36% are not sure.
When asked if they trust Trump or Powell more to set interest rates, more voters picked the current Federal Reserve chair.
Powell got 44% of the vote, while Trump received only 18%.
With many Americans wanting lower interest rates and potentially believing Powell has not cut rates enough, the question shifted when factoring in only the voters who want lower interest rates. For this demographic, Trump won out with 30% of the vote, while Powell got 27% of the vote.
Global Tensions
The poll from The Economist/YouGov found that when it comes to potential military force in other countries, most voters are opposed.
For Greenland, only 9% of voters support using military force, while 72% oppose. An option of purchasing Greenland without military action scores higher support, with 29% of voters supporting, but 51% of voters still oppose the action.
Fifty-eight percent of Republicans support purchasing Greenland, which is a majority, but not a huge show of support. Only 24% of Independent voters and 5% of Democrats support purchasing Greenland.
For Venezuela, 54% of voters oppose using military force to invade the country.
Only 25% of voters think the U.S. should take oil from Venezuela. A plan for the U.S. to help run the country for the next few years generates only 17% support in the poll.
Stock Market Returns
Trump’s low approval ratings come with major stock market indexes hitting new all-time highs in late 2025.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY), which tracks the S&P 500, was up 15.7% during the first year of Trump’s second term.
Comments from Trump on tariffs over wanting to have Greenland become part of the U.S. spooked markets on Tuesday, with the Magnificent Seven stocks losing $700 billion in value.
Markets rebounded on Wednesday with Trump sharing positive advancements in the negotiation for Greenland.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust was up 1.2% Wednesday to $685.40, which came after a 1.5% decline on Tuesday, the biggest one-day drop since November 2025.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, Trump said stock markets will trade higher. The president suggested the stock market could double “in a relatively short period of time.”
Strength in the stock market in 2025 failed to win over voters in terms of approval ratings in most polls. The stock market doubling may win over some voters, but polls are showing items like affordability and international relations are more impactful.
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