Trump’s job approval remains negative as Americans show overwhelming vaccine support, new poll shows

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

More than seven months into the job, President Donald Trump’s disapproval rating remains higher than his approval rating, with inflation and trade being two areas where Americans are most unhappy, according to a new poll.

Approximately 57 percent of respondents to the poll, conducted by NBC News and SurveyMonkey, said they “strongly disapprove” or “somewhat disapprove” of Trump’s handling of his job in August.

By far, most Americans express dissatisfaction with the way Trump is handling inflation and the cost of living. Approximately 61 percent of people said they somewhat or strongly disapprove of his handling of that. Similarly, 59 percent say they’re unhappy with Trump’s approach to tariffs.

The poll also found that Americans overwhelmingly support vaccines – the accessibility of which is being targeted by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Nearly 50 percent of respondents said they strongly support using vaccines, and another one-third said they somewhat support using vaccines.

President Donald Trump’s approval rating slipped down in August as his administration seeks to roll back vaccines and make immigration arrests (Getty Images)

That clashes with policies currently being pushed forward by Kennedy, who has a long history of using anti-vaccine rhetoric and spreading misinformation about their efficacy. Kennedy, who is not a doctor, was chosen by Trump to head the critical public health department because of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.

But the dramatic changes he’s made to agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have worried many. Kennedy has removed career officials and replaced them with allies who will support his agenda, regardless of whether science supports his claims.

The NBC News and SurveyMonkey poll also found that a majority of Americans want career politicians with experience in leadership positions, not outsiders looking to shake up the status quo.

The poll was also conducted before Kennedy’s tense congressional testimony last week.

While Trump remains unpopular on the economy, the survey found that Americans do support Trump on his immigration border policy, which has a 47 percent approval rating.

Kennedy defended his decisions as head of Health and Human Services to members of Congress from both sides of the aisle last week (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Trump heavily campaigned on his desire to reduce immigration to the United States and deport millions of undocumented immigrants. He has used misrepresentations of undocumented immigrants, equating them to violent criminals, as justification for his harsh immigration policy.

There is no evidence that undocumented immigrants commit violent crimes at a higher rate than U.S. citizens. In fact, some studies show the opposite.

But Americans appear to be happy with his efforts to “close” the U.S.–Mexico border and make it more difficult for people seeking asylum or a better life to cross over.

However, Trump’s deportation policies are less popular with Americans. Only 43 percent support his efforts.

Trump and his senior immigration officials have sought to conduct mass immigration arrests in major cities, mainly run by Democrats, such as Los Angeles and, most recently, Chicago.

Anti-ICE protests have begun in Chicago ahead of an immigration raid blitz that was exepcted (Getty Images)

The president’s immigration enforcement has been subjected to scrutiny as reports emerge indicating children are being separated from their parents again, U.S. citizens are being accused of being in the U.S. unlawfully, and many are being deported without due process.

The new poll mimics findings from Gallup, which found that Trump had a 40 percent approval rating in August, YouGov and The Economist, which put Trump’s approval rating at 41 percent, and Emerson College, which found Trump had a 45 percent approval rating.

But it differs from other polling, conducted mostly by conservative-leaning groups.

The White House recently boasted about findings from a Daily Mail and J.L. Partners poll, which found that 55 percent of Americans support Trump – the “highest approval figure we have ever shown for Donald Trump,” according to pollster James Johnson.

Those figures are much higher than polling from other outlets and data companies.