One hundred days into his second term, Donald Trump faces a brutal reality

US: Donald Trump is confronted with the harsh fact that his honeymoon is ended, one hundred days into his second term. In January, surveys showed that Trump was experiencing unprecedented popularity and, for the first time in his political career, his approval ratings were positive.

However, that impetus is no longer there. Even the record low ratings Trump established during his first term are eclipsed by new polls that show him as the least popular president at the 100-day mark of a second term, in a shocking turnaround.

Surveys Indicate a Historic Drop

A recent CNN/SSRS survey of 1,678 Americans, conducted between April 17 and 24, shows that 41% of respondents now approve of the president’s job performance, while 59% disapprove. That is seven points lower than it was in late February and down 4 points since March.

Additionally, Trump’s approval rating is worse today than it was at the same stage in his first term, and it is the lowest for any president in the 100 days since Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Additionally, Trump’s net approval dropped to -10 points in the most recent Fox News survey, which was conducted among 1,104 registered voters between April 18 and 21, with 44 percent approving and 55 percent disapproving, compared to -2 points in March.

This is a 5-point drop from Trump’s 49 percent support in March and lower than the approval of Joe Biden (54 percent), Barack Obama (62 percent), and George W. Bush (63 percent) at the 100-day mark of their presidencies.

Trump has the lowest 100-day job approval rating of any president in the past 80 years, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll of 2,464 adults conducted between April 18 and 22. Of those surveyed, 39% said they approve of Trump’s handling of his job as president, a 6 percentage point decrease from February, while 55% said they disapprove.

Additionally, 46 percent of registered voters who participated in an NPR/PBS/Marist Poll study between April 21 and April 23 gave Trump the lowest possible grade of “F” for his work thus far, the lowest of any president in modern history.

Trump attempted to undermine recent surveys earlier this week by calling them “fake news.”

“Like the news itself, the polls from the fake news are phony! In a post on Truth Social, he said, “We are doing amazing— better than ever before.”

However, as popularity numbers decline, the White House must decide whether this decline is a brief downturn or the beginning of an administration that is already in trouble.

According to former FiveThirtyEight director G.. Elliott Morris, a Trump polling comeback is “unlikely.”

“I think it’s unlikely that he will meaningfully pivot, just given everything we know about Trump,” he said to the media report. He pointed out, “But 4 years is a long time!”

According to Morris’ statistical model, Trump’s net approval rating might drop to -30 points by November 2026 from its present rating of -10 points.

Matt McDermott, a Democratic pollster, presents an even more dire picture. According to him, there is “no historical precedent” for a president to bounce back from such a severe decline in popularity at the beginning of their tenure. “Once trust is broken, it is difficult to rebuild—and right now Trump is burning through whatever goodwill he had left with critical swing voters.”

Trump’s historically low 100-day support ratings are “a major red flag”—not only for his administration but also for his wider political power, according to presidential historian Allan Lichtman, who specializes in election predicting. “There is no precedent for any president recovering from such low approval ratings at the hundred-day mark,” he says, adding that during his first term, when he never completely recovered, Trump’s sole opponent for this kind of early-term unpopularity is himself. Although Lichtman concedes that approval ratings are subject to change, he contends that the likelihood of this happening is “dim.”

“A lot can still happen, although the chances of a significant increase in approval ratings for Trump are dim,” he said.

Taking a more comprehensive stance, Jack Dozier, the deputy director of Yale Youth Poll, contends that it is just too soon to determine the entire extent of Trump’s second term. He stresses that “only time will tell” whether Trump’s current polling figures represent a brief decline or the beginning of long-term political harm and that presidential popularity may change.

He acknowledges, however, that early-term surveys are important indicators, particularly when they are this pessimistic, and that public opinion at this point may assist in in determining a president’s capacity to lead and establish the national agenda.

“Any possible long-term harm has not yet been disclosed since polls are now only measuring the first 100 days of Trump’s nonconsecutive administrations. About a year into the administration, the polling community will have a deeper understanding of this. This phase was the height of the Biden-Harris administration’s approval ratings! We’ll have to wait and see,” he replied.

However, most analysts believe that Trump’s recovery will need a change in his strategy, especially with regard to tariffs.

According to Thomas Gift, an associate professor of political science and head of the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London, “a rebound is possible, but it will require changing the game plan and not doubling down on policy failures,” he told the media report.

“There are those people who find Trump’s flirtations with tariffs intolerable,” he said, “particularly those who are looking at their 401(k)s and seeing their retirement funds being squandered and are experiencing buyer’s remorse with Trump. Should Trump’s promises of “short-term pain, long-term gain” fail to materialize, other voters might be willing to extend their patience. However, if Trump’s self-inflicted economic wounds cause America to enter a recession, even their forbearance may run out.

Economic Unrest Fuels Dissatisfaction

Since he announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs, Trump’s support numbers have been falling. The sweeping move rocked the market, causing an instant sell-off, followed by a recovery a few days later.

However, surveys show a sharp decline in public trust in the president’s ability to handle the economy, which has long been considered one of his main advantages. The evidence suggests that the president’s handling of the crisis has unnerved people.

Trump’s net popularity rating on the economy has fallen to -16, with just 40 percent approving and 56 percent disapproving, according to a Navigator Research survey taken from April 24 to 28. This is his lowest rating on the economy in the group’s monitoring history. His net approval ratings on tariffs and inflation were significantly worse, at -26 and -29, respectively. Other polls also indicate the rising worry. According to a Decision Desk HQ/NewsNation survey, 82 percent of voters are concerned about a possible recession, and 59 percent believe that the nation’s largest issue is inflation.

This tendency is supported by other polling: according to the most recent New York Times/Siena survey, half of Americans believe Trump has deteriorated the economy since he took office for a second term. Merely 21% said that he had made improvements. According to the same study, 42% of respondents approved of Trump’s economic policies, while 55% disapproved. His economic approval rating was significantly lower in other national surveys, conducted by Fox News and AP-NORC, at 37% and 38%, respectively.

Additionally, Trump’s immigration strategy has suffered. According to new Emerson College data, the president’s once-strong argument has seen a decline in support from 48 percent to 45 percent and an increase in disapproval to 44 percent. His deportation strategy also has a net negative rating, which is marginally worse.

Long-Term Hazards Increase

And Lichtman believes that the Republicans may have difficulties in the midterm elections if Trump keeps going on this path. “Low early approval ratings are indicative of midterm losses for the president’s party,” he said.

Gift concurred. “Being term-limited makes polling far less important, which is the main benefit of serving a second term as president. However, there is even more cause for fear for Trump’s congressional friends who will be up against voters in the 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s popularity ratings are so low that Republican incumbents run the danger of falling with him. Trump can’t afford to ignore polling that indicates he is the least popular president at this point in his administration in more than 80 years if he wants to prevent an opposition House or Senate, along with the ensuing investigations and paralysis,” he added.

“The warning signs are flashing red,” McDermott continued. There is already a strong sense of disillusionment and betrayal among those who gave Trump another opportunity. They are seeing instability, internal strife, and policies that seem to be intended to harm regular working families, despite his promises to improve the economy and cut costs. “We’ve never seen a president inflict this much damage on himself so quickly.”