Presidential Approval Benchmark & Cross-Tab Explorer

Comprehensive demographic and econometric decomposition of the record-low 33% approval rating reported in the latest Financial Times survey, benchmarked against modern post-war historical presidential low-water marks.

Approval 33%

Disapproval 63%

Net Margin -30%

95% Confidence Interval

30.6% – 35.4%

33%

63%

Sample: N=1,500 Margin of Error: ±2.5% Undecided / Neutral: 4% Method: Dual-frame Cell/Landline + Online Panel

Survey Cross-Tab Breakdown Baseline FT Sample Weights

Cohort	Approve	Disapprove	Distribution

Modern Presidential Low-Water Benchmarks Historical Term Lows

How Trump's 33% FT rating compares to historic lowest approval ratings recorded in modern public opinion polling during national crises.

Donald Trump

FT Poll 2026

Record low driven by cumulative inflation fatigue, independent defection, and fiscal gridlock.

33%

G.W. Bush

Oct 2008

Global Financial Crisis, Lehman Brothers collapse, post-surge Iraq War exhaustion.

25%

Jimmy Carter

Jul 1979

Second oil crisis, double-digit stagflation, "Crisis of Confidence" speech.

28%

Richard Nixon

Aug 1974

Watergate tape release, House Judiciary Committee impeachment articles.

24%

Swing Cohort Sensitivity Simulator Interactive Recalculation

Shift the independent voter approval, partisan base retention, or suburban coalition to model simulated macro approval trajectories.

Independent Voter Approval (33% of electorate) 24%

Base Party Retention (32% of electorate) 74%

Opposition Party Approval (35% of electorate) 6%

Sample Size (N):

Executive Polling Brief & Export Audit Trail

Methodological Assessment

Under the benchmark FT survey (N=1,500), composite presidential approval is anchored at 33.0% against 63.0% disapproval (net -30.0%). The net deficit is principally driven by a collapse in independent support to 24%, while opposition party disapproval registers at 92%.