House Speaker Mike Johnson (L) and Gov, Jeff Landry (R) look on as President Trump announces Hyundai's first North American steel factory will be built in Donaldson, in Ascension Parish. Credit: White House
President Donald Trump remains popular with Louisiana voters, but his approval rating in the state has fallen below 50 percent, according to a new survey.
The World Population Review puts Trump’s approval rating among Louisiana voters at 49 percent, down nine percentage points from five months ago.
ULM political science professor Pearson Cross says presidential approval ratings often decline when the economy struggles.
“People are feeling the affordability issues, they are paying more for groceries, they are paying more for gas, internationally the news is not great with the war dragging on in Iran,” Cross said.
Trump’s national approval rating is even lower. According to The Economist, 35 percent of Americans approve of the president’s job performance.
Cross says the numbers could be a warning sign for Republicans as they head into the 2026 midterm elections.
“If you go back to President Barack Obama in 2010, he took some major hits and his party lost 60 seats in the mid-term election,” Cross said.
Cross says it is not unusual for a president’s popularity to decline during his time in office and reversing the trend could be difficult for Trump.
“Coming to some conclusion with regard to the war with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz would help, but at this point he’s been under water for his entire Presidency, he’s never had a 50 percent approval rating nationally, there’s very little he can do,” Cross said.
Comments