President Donald Trump’s approval rating dropped to its lowest level since his return to office as Americans increasingly turn against his handling of the economy, specifically his aggressive embrace of protectionist policies that have sent markets reeling.

Trump sits at 42 percent approval in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, his lowest rating since January 2025, when 47 percent liked the job Trump was doing. The poll found that on specific issues, Trump’s approval rating is even lower, including the economy and upholding the rule of law.

Only 37 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the economy compared to 51 percent who disapprove. Even worse, Trump is at 31 percent approval and 57 percent disapproval on cost of living, an issue that will have major implications for Republican performance heading into the midterm elections.

The American people were similarly critical of Trump’s performance on trade, with 36 approving and 52 percent disapproving of his administration’s embrace of tariffs.

The results track those of a CNBC poll, released Monday, which found that only 43 percent of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of the economy, compared to 55 percent who disapproved, marking the first time Trump has fallen into net-negative territory on the economy in any CNBC poll conducted while he was president. The majority of blue collar workers, a key segment of Trump’s coalition, remain supportive of his handling of the economy, but the share of those workers who disapprove has increased by 14 percent since Trump took office.

Trump announced earlier this month a sweeping global tariff package based primarily on trade deficits with individual countries, a shakeup that caused investors to panic and stock indexes to fall to their lowest levels since Covid-19 broke out. Trump paused the tariffs for 90 days because of the stock market declines, except for those on China, which is now on the receiving end of 145 percent U.S. tariffs.

Trump did, however, signal a willingness to deescalate the trade war with China in comments to reporters on Tuesday.

“145 percent is very high and it won’t be that high,” Trump said in a question-and-answer session in the Oval Office. “It won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially. But it won’t be zero.”

The deportations of pro-Hamas activist Mahmoud Khalil and suspected MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia have drawn controversy because of concerns about due process and upholding the rule of law, even for non-citizens.

More broadly, the Trump administration has clashed with federal judges over the explosion of sweeping nationwide injunctions temporarily preventing the White House from carrying out its agenda. Thirty-five percent of respondents to the poll approve of Trump’s approach to the rule of law while 48 percent disapprove. A vast majority, 83 percent, believe Trump should follow court orders he opposes, and only 13 percent took the other position.

Trump is in net negative territory on immigration as well, with 45 percent approving his performance compared to 46 percent who do not. Immigration remains Trump’s best issue in the eyes of the American people, even with the negative net approval.

The Reuters survey was conducted from April 16-21 and featured 4,306 U.S. adults. Its margin of error is 2 percentage points either way.