President Donald Trump’s approval rating has reached new lows across both of his terms in two surveys released this week, as negative views of his job performance are widely seen as a risk to Republican prospects in the midterm election. Trump’s standing is now similar to former President Joe Biden’s at the same point in his term: Biden recorded a 42% approval rating in August 2022, according to Gallup. Trump’s approval rating was 40% during the week of Sept. 17-23, 2018, in his first term, also according to Gallup. Trump began his second term with a 52% approval rating and 43% disapproval rating in The New York Times’ polling average. Support fell sharply after the announcement of his so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs in April last year and declined again after the Iran war began at the end of February. Economic concerns have remained elevated during Trump’s second term, while the conflict has coincided with more negative views of the economy as gas prices have surged. Democrats are favored to regain control of the House and win some seats in the Republican-dominated Senate, according to Cook Political Report. Further reading cited in the source includes The New York Times’ "President Trump’s Approval Rating: Latest Polls," Silver Bulletin’s "How popular is Donald Trump?" and CNN’s "CNN Poll Tracking: President Trump’s approval ratings."