US President Donald Trump's approval rating has remained at the lowest level of his political career, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday, less than a month before the November 3 midterm elections. The six-day survey found that 32 percent of Americans approve of his performance, unchanged from a September poll that had already marked a record low.

The poll points to particular erosion among Hispanic voters, a group that helped return Trump to the White House in 2024. Pew Research Center estimated he won 48 percent of the Hispanic vote that year, against 51 percent for Democrat Kamala Harris, a sharp rise from the 36 percent he secured in 2020. Now only 24 percent of Hispanic Americans approve of his work, the lowest in either of his terms. About 52 percent of registered Hispanic voters say they will back Democrats in the midterms, compared with 26 percent for Republicans, the largest Democratic lead among the group since Trump took office. A separate NBC News/Telemundo poll found 59 percent of Latino voters want a Democratic-controlled Congress.

The poll's broader findings are also difficult for Republicans. Among registered voters, 44 percent prefer Democrats and 37 percent Republicans; among independents the gap is 37 to 21 percent, with 28 percent undecided. Republicans' advantage among voters aged 50 and over, who make up a large share of midterm electorates, has shrunk to two points from eight in December. Cost of living is voters' top concern, with inflation pushed up by higher fuel prices after the war on Iran that Trump launched in February. Hispanic communities have also been affected by the administration's aggressive immigration enforcement. Republican Representative Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida has said in a campaign ad that some enforcement efforts have "gone too far" and that Hispanics who backed Trump "feel betrayed".

The political map reflects the pressure. Analyst Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report says Republican groups have shifted money out of Georgia and North Carolina toward safer states such as Kansas, and are defending seats Trump won by 10 points or more. Many analysts expect Democrats to win the House of Representatives, while control of the Senate is increasingly seen as uncertain. Walter cautions that polls carry margins of error and that disaffected Republicans, who are harder to reach, may still turn out to stop Democrats gaining power.

Trump, who is touring states in a 32-day run of rallies, dismissed the numbers. "I'm doing great," he told reporters before travelling to Nebraska, and he has insisted Republicans want him to campaign for them. He has also promised payouts to voters if Republicans keep Congress, though NPR's Tamara Keith notes that many Republican candidates are instead acknowledging that prices are too high. The midterms are widely seen as a referendum on his second term and will determine whether he faces a Congress able to constrain his agenda for the remaining two years.