For the first time since Donald Trump returned to the White House, his net approval rating among white working-class voters has turned negative, according to a CNN/SSRS poll conducted between 26 and 30 March 2026. The survey recorded 49 per cent of white working-class voters approving of Trump's performance, against 50 per cent who disapproved — a net rating of minus one. It is the first time that the figure has dipped below zero in his second term.
The pace of the reversal is equally notable. As recently as mid-February, CNN/SSRS polling had Trump at 54 per cent approval and 46 per cent disapproval among this group — a net positive of eight points — a cushion that evaporated in under six weeks.
A Year-Long Slide in the Numbers
The March result did not emerge in isolation. In late February 2025, two CNN polls showed Trump at 63-37 and 61-38 among white working-class voters. By July 2025, the split had narrowed to 54-45. By January 2026, it stood at 52-47 — still positive, but shrinking — before crossing into negative territory by late March.
Fox News polling pointed in the same direction. Among white non-college men specifically, a Fox News survey in March 2025 showed Trump at 58 per cent approval against 41 per cent disapproval. By March 2026, that had shifted to 48 per cent approval and 52 per cent disapproval — a swing of 21 net points over twelve months. The trajectory is consistent across different polling organisations, which makes it harder to dismiss as a single-outlet anomaly.
CNN's chief data analyst Harry Enten has been among the most direct in his assessment. Drawing on CNN exit poll data, his own polling aggregate, and Pew Research Center figures, Enten described what he called a '23-point switch' — from Trump winning working-class voters by 14 points over Kamala Harris in 2024, to a current net approval of negative nine. 'He is absolutely collapsing with the group of voters that helped put him into the White House,' Enten said.
Economy Central to the Discontent
The White House has pointed to economic progress, but polling tells a different story. Trump's approval rating for handling the economy has fallen to a new career low of 31 per cent, with roughly two-thirds of Americans saying his policies have worsened economic conditions — up 10 points since January. Just 27 per cent approve of how he has handled inflation, down from 44 per cent one year ago.
Petrol prices, now averaging above $4 per gallon (approximately £3.02) nationally following the US strike on Iran, are compounding the pressure. More than six in ten Americans say they are still cutting back on groceries and discretionary spending, and 45 per cent say they have reduced how much they drive, up five points over the past year. Overall, 63 per cent say higher costs at the pump have caused at least some financial hardship in their household.
A University of Massachusetts Amherst poll conducted between 20 and 25 March 2026 placed Trump's overall approval at 33 per cent, the lowest of his second term, with 17 per cent of people who voted for him in 2024 now expressing reservations about that choice.
The administration has pushed back on the data without engaging with it directly. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said: 'The ultimate poll was November 5, 2024, when nearly 80 million Americans overwhelmingly elected President Trump to deliver on his popular and commonsense agenda.' A separate spokesperson added that 'the president has already made historic progress not only in America, but around the world,' and that it was 'not surprising that President Trump remains the most dominant figure in American politics.'
Trump's net approval rating among white working class voters has turned negative for the first time ever. pic.twitter.com/0PKrAFiPE8
— FactPost (@factpostnews) April 3, 2026
What It Means for the Midterms
The Republican Party's standing with working-class voters has also softened more broadly. Republicans carried this group by 13 points in the 2024 presidential cycle; new polling puts that margin at just four. 'When you can count it on one hand, you know that you're in trouble,' Enten said.
Whether Democrats can convert that discontent into actual votes in November remains an open question. Scott Tranter, director of data science at Decision Desk HQ, offered a measured assessment: 'If a team fumbles and you get the ball, you don't actually score until you do something with it.'
White working-class voters have formed the majority of Trump's coalition across all three of his presidential campaigns. A sustained shift among this group — not a momentary dip, but a trend line running consistently in one direction for over a year — would represent something more than a rough patch.
