Trump approval craters to 33% on government management as shutdown enters week six

The AP-NORC poll (Nov. 6–10, 1,143 adults, margin of error ±3.8 points) found 33% of U.S. adults approve of Trump's management of the federal government — down 10 points from 43% in March. The sharpest erosion came from within his own party: Republicans' approval of his government management fell from 81% to 68%, while independents dropped from 38% to 25%. Democrats' disapproval held steady at 95%, up from 89% in March.

The poll was conducted after Democrats' off-year election victories in November 2025 but before Congress advanced measures to end the shutdown. The government had been shut down for 43 days — the longest in U.S. history — leaving approximately 800,000 federal workers without paychecks and triggering delays in air traffic control, food assistance processing, and federal court proceedings.

A separate GGallup poll (Nov. 3–25, 1,321 adults) found Trump's overall job approval dropped to a new second-term low of 36%. Republicans fell seven points to 84% from the prior month, while independents dropped eight points to 25% — the worst independent rating in either Trump term except for one reading in August 2017. Congressional approval collapsed to 14%, with Republicans in Congress falling from 54% approval in September to 23% during the shutdown.

BLBeverly Lucas, 78, a Republican and retired educator from Ormond Beach, 🌴Florida, captured the mood of a growing slice of the GOP base: 'I'm thoroughly disturbed by the government shutdown for 40-something days. When people are hungry, he had a party,' she said, referring to a Great Gatsby-themed Halloween party at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club. 'I thought he seems callous.' Pollster NSNate Silver warned that Trump's heightened unpopularity 'might be here to stay.'

Despite the erosion in government management ratings, Trump's overall approval on the presidency remained at 36% — essentially flat from October's 37%. The AP-NORC poll found approval of his handling of immigration and the economy were also unchanged since October, suggesting the shutdown damage was concentrated specifically in perceptions of his managerial competence rather than his issue positions.

Border security remained Trump's strongest issue in the November polling, with 50% approval — including 36% of independents and 19% of Democrats. But even this number reflected erosion from earlier in the year, as the shutdown debate shifted public attention from border security to economic pain and federal disruption. Health care and government management remained the worst-rated issues.

Trump dismissed the polls directly. In an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham, he called negative economic reporting 'a con job by the Democrats,' said the economy was 'strong,' and claimed 'every anchor' repeated Democratic talking points. 'It's such a rigged system,' he said.

He told Fox the reports of economic anxiety amounted to a 'manufactured' problem. An NBC News poll conducted around the same time found two-thirds of respondents said Trump had not delivered on his signature 2024 campaign promise to lower inflation.

The political consequences of the shutdown extended to Republican electoral prospects. Democrats had just notched off-year election wins, and GOP strategists publicly warned that a 13-point drop in Republican approval of their own president's government management — from 81% to 68% — represented the kind of structural erosion that takes months to recover. GGallup noted that at the same stage of his first term (November 2017), Trump averaged 37% overall — virtually identical to his current position.