Poll: Trump gets low marks for job performance - Talk Business & Politics
New polling from Talk Business & Politics and Hendrix College shows President Donald Trump is viewed unfavorably by state voters and his unpopularity is a drag on several GOP incumbents. . . .
New polling from Talk Business & Politics and Hendrix College shows President Donald Trump is viewed unfavorably by state voters and his unpopularity is a drag on several GOP incumbents. A new statewide survey of 1,217 likely voters ranks Trump’s job disapproval at 53% compared to 46% who approve, a new low in Arkansas for the usually popular president. The Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College Poll was conducted Aug. 11-12, 2026. The questions asked include:Q: Do you approve or disapprove of the job Donald Trump is doing as president?32. 2% – Strongly Approve14. 1% – Somewhat Approve (46% – Approve)4. 67% – Somewhat Disapprove48. 3% – Strongly Disapprove (53% – Disapprove)0. 75% – Don’t KnowQ: Do you approve or disapprove of the job Donald Trump is handling the economy?28. 95% – Strongly Approve15. 73% – Somewhat Approve (44. 5% – Approve)5. 92% – Somewhat Disapprove48. 95% – Strongly Disapprove (55% – Disapprove)0. 45% – Don’t KnowQ: Do you approve or disapprove of the job Donald Trump is handling the war with Iran?23. 16% – Strongly Approve18. 87% – Somewhat Approve (42% – Approve)4. 28% – Somewhat Disapprove52. 3% – Strongly Disapprove (56. 5% – Disapprove)1. 39% – Don’t Know“As we will see over the next several days as we release results, the president’s disapproval ratings are impacting several statewide and Congressional races in Arkansas,” said Roby Brock, Talk Business & Politics Editor-in-Chief. “The Trump brand and the GOP are tightly woven together as we’ve seen in a red state like Arkansas for a decade. The key demographic that has shifted is Independent voters. ”ANALYSISTalk Business & Politics seeks bipartisan input in the construction and analysis of its polls. Dr. Jay Barth, emeritus professor of politics at Hendrix College, is active in Democratic Party politics and helped craft and analyze the latest poll. He offered this analysis of the poll results:Arkansans have been very good to Donald Trump in all of his general elections starting in 2016. But, our survey shows that—just as has occurred nationally, even in “red” states like Arkansas—the tides have turned on Trump. Trump being underwater in his job approval is driven by primarily by brutal numbers among Arkansas’s independent voters, as has been seen nationally. Among that group, over seven in 10 either strongly or somewhat disapprove. Among those who disapprove of the President’s performance, nearly all “strongly” disapprove; it is this ferocity of disapproval that has sudden, negative implications for Trump’s fellow Republicans on the Arkansas ballot. The President’s standing in the state is somewhat salvaged by the relative Republican skew of the state’s voters; those Republicans remain loyal to the President, just as the smaller number of Democrats are consistently and emphatically disapproving. Trump does perform well with a couple of key subgroups. Among those 65 and above, nearly six in ten approve of the President’s performance; because of the high turnout patterns of this group, this is a positive sign electorally for Republicans who have to face the voters in just over two months. On the other hand, Arkansas voters under 45 are simply brutal in their attitudes about Trump. Trump also performs well (54% approve) among the majority of the Arkansas electorate that lacks a college degree, a group that has consistently been supportive of him across his electoral career. Finally, the gender gap that has been part of the Trump story is once again prominent in this survey with 57% of Arkansas women either strongly (53%) or somewhat (4%) disapproving of Trump’s job performance, while a slight majority of male voters approve of the President’s second term to date. We also examined attitudes about the President’s job performance on two key issues: the economy and the war in Iran. On both issues, Trump’s job performance was even lower than his overall performance. Most telling were the numbers on the war in Iran where 53% of voters strongly disapprove. Arkansas has been a state where voters tend to rally around Presidents during modern wars. But, this conflict being seen as one of choice (and, a bad choice by the President at that), one that has not been carried out adeptly (the stories of the conditions of sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln were front and center during the polling cycle), and one where the challenges in Iran are having profound implications on the economy at home in a state so dependent upon oil leads to emphatically low numbers for Trump on the issue. Because of Trump’s dominance of American politics across the decade, his poor job approval numbers have profound implications for the remainder of our polling results in races for statewide office and for the 2nd Congressional District. Robert Coon, managing partner with Impact Management Group, which works with Republican political candidates, also helped craft and analyze the latest poll. He offered this analysis of the poll results:President Donald Trump has reached historic lows in his job approval, both nationally and in this survey of likely Arkansas general election voters. Low presidential job approval numbers are not uncommon in a mid-term election, particularly in a second term. Given that Trump remained actively in the public eye throughout the Biden presidency before resuming office in 2024, some might say at this point his approval ratings are akin to a third term president. Over the course of his presidency, Republicans have allowed the party to become the party of Trump, and have ridden the Trump brand to their advantage in races at the federal and state levels. In a time of historic job approval lows, however, the two remained intertwined which now appears to be causing downward pressure on Republican candidates across the country and in Arkansas. More than half of likely voters (53%) disapprove of the job Trump is doing as president, with 48% strongly disapproving. Disapproval regarding his handling of the economy (55%) is marginally worse than his overall rating, while voters have an even more negative view of his handling of the Iran war (57%). Trump has traditionally seen universal approval among self-identified Republicans, though in this poll there is some minor attrition among his own party (12% disapprove). However, the heart of his current job approval woes is Trump’s standing with Independents, 70% of which disapprove of the job he’s doing – with strong disapproval reaching 65%. That strong disapproval of the president is driving pressure downward into races as GOP candidates are currently on the wrong side of Independent voters. METHODOLOGYThe survey of 1,217 likely Arkansas voters was conducted Aug. 11-12, 2026 and has a margin of error of +/- 4. 7%. Age5% 18-2920% 30-4440% 45-6435% 65 or olderEthnicity8. 5% Black87. 5% White0. 5% Asian American1% Hispanic/Latino2. 5% Other (Including mixed races)Party ID23. 2% Democrat31. 4% Independent39. 8% Republican5. 6% Something ElseCollege Degree33% Yes67% NoGender48. 8% Male51% Female0. 2% OtherCongressional District25% CD125% CD225% CD325% CD4Responses were collected via SMS by phone. The poll is slightly weighted to account for key demographics including ethnicity, education, gender, and geography. All media outlets are welcome to reprint, reproduce, or rebroadcast information from this poll with proper attribution to Talk Business & Politics and Hendrix College. A link back to this specific story is also required for any digital or online usage by other media outlets. For interviews, contact Talk Business & Politics Roby Brock by email at[email protected]. Related