Lower approval aligns with larger midterm losses

Presidential approval rating at the time of a midterm election and change in U.S. House seats for the president's party, 1946 to 2022

*1974 is an average of Richard Nixon's approval (25%) when he resigned in Aug. 1974 and Gerald Ford's approval on Election Day (51%).

Seat change is the difference between the presidential party's total seats (including vacant seats it had previously held) heading into Election Day and the number it won. Trump's current approval is based on a composite average of approval trackers produced by Decision Desk HQ, The New York Times, RealClearPolitics, Silver Bulletin, and Strength in Numbers, as of Aug. 19, 2025.
Source: FiveThirtyEight, U.S. House of Representatives, VoteView