🗞️ Story file #630
Trump approval rating hits record low in new polls ahead of midterms
Oct 19, 5 AM ET to Oct 23, 3 AM ET
- 16outlets carried it
- 🫏10 · 4 · 2🐘left · center · right
- 3.9 dayson the front pages
- 12front pages at once, at its peak
- 109 minof TV captions
- 3radio newscasts
- 17people retold it online
- 1fact-check
👣 How this story traveled: from the front pages that broke it, out through TV, radio and the shows, into what people retold and what fact-checkers examined, and on into the saga it is part of. Everything here is matched to the story by our tools, so a link can be wrong; the trackers' pages say how each is made.
- Oct 19, 5 AM ETfirst on a front page: The Independent
- Oct 19, 7 AM ETfirst on TV: CNN
- Oct 21, 8 AM ETretold online by 17 people
- Oct 21, 9 PM ETpeak: on 12 front pages
- Oct 22, 11 AM ETfirst on the radio: NPR News Now
📰 Spread
the front pages that ran it, hour by hour
📡 wire copy: 2 outlets ran the Reuters headline nearly word for word (HuffPost, Yahoo News)
📌 linked by aggregators: Political Wire Google News
✏️ 8 outlets ran more than one headline on it (reworded, or a follow-up)
- CNN (5 wordings): “CNN Poll Trump’s approval rating hits a new low ahead of the midterms” → “CNN poll shows Democrats with a 10-point edge with voters”
- Forbes (3 wordings): “Trump’s Approval Rating Hits Record Low 31% In Latest Poll” → “Trump Approval Rating: Hits A Low On The Economy—As Republican Pessimism Reaches All-Time High”
- HuffPost (3 wordings): “POLL: Disastrous Approval Rating For Trump...” → “Trump’s Approval Rating Is Bottoming Out”
- Newsweek (2 wordings): “Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Erodes With Male Voters Before Midterms” → “Trump’s Approval Rating Hits Record Low in 2 New Polls Days Before Midterms”
- The Hill (3 wordings): “Trump approval hits record low in new survey” → “Trump approval at new lows in polling days before midterms”
- The Independent (2 wordings): “Trump’s approval rating hits record new low as midterms loom” → “Trump polling continues to reach new lows just two weeks ahead of midterms”
- USA Today (3 wordings): “Trump's approval rating hits record low in poll as midterms near” → “Trump approval rating sinks to new record lows in 2 separate polls”
- Yahoo News (3 wordings): “Trump approval hits record low, handing Democrats a clear midterm edge” → “Trump approval rating falls to career low in new poll”
Every outlet's first headline (16), left to right by AllSides rating
HuffPost
POLL: Disastrous Approval Rating For Trump... Oct 19, 1 AM ET
MSNBC
Trump approval hits new low as he continues campaign tour of red states Oct 21, 7 AM ET
The Guardian
Trump’s approval rating drops to 36% two weeks before midterms, poll finds Oct 21, 2 PM ET
ABC News
Dems lead GOP in House vote choice as Trump's approval rating hits record low: Poll Oct 18, 1 AM ET
CNBC
Trump's approval rating on economy hits all-time low as midterm looms: CNBC survey Oct 22, 8 AM ET
CNN
CNN Poll Trump’s approval rating hits a new low ahead of the midterms Oct 21, 6 AM ET
New York Times
Trump Approval Hits New Low Two Weeks Before Midterms, Poll Finds Oct 21, 7 AM ET
The Independent
Trump’s approval rating hits record new low as midterms loom Oct 19, 5 AM ET
USA Today
Trump's approval rating hits record low in poll as midterms near Oct 18, 10 AM ET
Yahoo News
Trump approval hits record low, handing Democrats a clear midterm edge Oct 18, 2 PM ET
Forbes
Trump’s Approval Rating Hits Record Low 31% In Latest Poll Oct 20, 7 PM ET
Newsweek
Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Erodes With Male Voters Before Midterms Oct 18, 6 AM ET
Reuters
EXCLUSIVE: Trump's approval falls to record low of 31% as midterms near, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds Oct 19, 5 PM ET
The Hill
Trump approval hits record low in new survey Oct 20, 9 AM ET
Washington Examiner
Trump’s approval rating reaches new low despite midterm campaign push Oct 21, 9 AM ET
Newsmax
CNN Poll: Democrats Open 10-Point Congressional Lead Oct 21, 1 PM ET
📡 Broadcast
TV, radio, and the shows that talked about it
📺 On TV
- RED STATES IN PLAY FOR DEMS AS TRUMP'S APPROVAL PLUMMETS MSNOW, 14 min
- TRUMP HITS LOWEST POLLS OF BOTH TERMS AHEAD OF MIDTERMS CNN, 12 min
- NEW CNN POLL: TRUMP'S APPROVAL HITS NEW LOW AHEAD OF MIDTERMS CNN, 9 min
- DEMOCRATS LEAD ACROSS POLLS AS TRUMP'S APPROVAL RATING DIPS CNN, 6 min
- NEW CNN POLL OF POLLS: TRUMP APPROVAL RATING AT 34% CNN, 4 min
- DEMOCRATS LOOK TO EXPAND MAP AS TRUMP & GOP APPROVAL DROPS CNN, 4 min
- REUTERS/IPSOS POLL: TRUMP APPROVAL FALLS TO RECORD LOW OF 31% CNN, 4 min
- NEW CNN POLL SHOWS ANTI-TRUMP FEELINGS & VOTERS’ DESIRE FOR CHANGE & FUEL DEMS’ MIDTERM ADVANTAGE CNN, 3 min
📻 On the radio
- NPR News Now, Oct 22, 1:10 PM ET: story 3 of 6
- ABC News Update, Oct 22, 1:05 PM ET: the lead
- NPR News Now, Oct 22, 11:09 AM ET: story 3 of 6
🧶 Retelling
what people online made of it
🧩 How it's being told
The stories under this news, from our motif index, and who told each: the shows we follow by their lean, people online, fact-checkers. A story people tell, not a claim that it's true; claims are matched to this story by our tools, so a link can be wrong.
- 🧩 Dead weight president
🫏 3 left shows 🧶 online
“President Trump's job approval rating has fallen to a record low.” and 1 more - 🧩 Referendum on the president
🫏 3 left shows
“Trump's low approval rating is negatively impacting Republican candidates in midterm elections.”
🧶 Retold online
- Donald Trump's approval rating rose to 32% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Oct 27: told by 9 people
- President Trump's job approval rating has fallen to a record low. Oct 21: told by 8 people; told before on Oct 20
🦋 Widely seen on Bluesky
🦋 a post on Bluesky · 4 likes, 2 reposts
🦋 a post on Bluesky · 3 likes, 0 reposts
On Folklore: the latest in full, with their motifs and who is telling them.
🗣️ names in it: Donald Trump Poll 2026 midterm elections
🔎 Checking
what the fact-checkers looked into
🧵 Persistence
the running story it belongs to
🌱 A story of its own so far: no saga yet.