Wall Street Journal poll: Trump’s approval falls to 37%, the lowest level before the midterm elections

US President Donald Trump is entering the decisive months before the midterm elections with one of the weakest results of his presidency: a new poll by The Wall Street Journal puts his approval at just 37%, against 61% of registered voters who disapprove. The poll, published on Monday, was conducted on September 16–21 among 1,500 registered voters, according to USA Today, which summarises the financial newspaper’s data through Delaware News Journal reporter Maria Francis.

The historical comparison is particularly harsh for the White House. At 37% approval, Trump is below the 39% level that President George W. Bush held before the 2006 midterm elections — elections after which Democrats won 5 seats in the Senate and 31 in the House of Representatives. National polling averages reinforce this picture: as of September 28, RealClearPolitics put Trump at 38.7% approval against 59.9% disapproval, while the averages of The New York Times and Silver Bulletin also placed him in the late 30s.

The economy remains the president’s Achilles heel. About 65% of voters say the economy is not strong and 60% think Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions, the poll data show. This harsh assessment of the economy also helps explain the lead that polls give the Democratic Party on some generic congressional ballots ahead of the midterm elections.

Political observers stress that, although months remain until election day, a president with approval below 40% historically faces a very difficult electoral climate for his party. If the trend does not change, Democrats could turn voters’ economic discontent into a wave similar to that of 2006 — a scenario the White House will do everything to avoid.