2026-08-20 · contested story
Trump’s immigration approval drops 18 points in NBC poll, sinks to 40%
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll published August 17, 2026, found that President Donald Trump's advantage on immigration—long considered one of his strongest political issues—has collapsed to a narrow two-point spread, with 40 percent of registered voters saying Republicans have the better approach on immigration versus 38 percent choosing Democrats. This marks the lowest spread of Trump's second term, a dramatic fall from the 26-point Republican lead recorded in January 2025. Concurrently, Trump's overall approval rating hit a second-term low of 33 percent, driven substantially by discontent over the ongoing war in Iran and economic concerns. It should be noted that only a handful of the scraped sources (Newsweek, its Yahoo syndication, Forbes, The Economist, and Asbury Park Press) actually address the immigration polling topic; the overwhelming majority of scraped articles concern an unrelated Pew survey about global favorability of China versus the U.S.
How each side frames it
center
"Donald Trump has lost ground on immigration, a new poll from Reuters/Ipsos has found."
"the second term has seen a number of high-profile issues related to immigration, including deadly confrontations, a rise in deaths in custody and a surge in detainees, including children, impacting public opinion on overall policy"
""No other President in history has accomplished more for the American people than President Trump, who is working tirelessly to create jobs, cool inflation, increase housing affordability, and more," Davis Ingle, a White House spokesman, said"
"President Donald Trump's approval rating declined two points from earlier this month, falling to a record low for his second term and tying his first-term low in Reuters/Ipsos polling."
"Donald Trump's net approval is -26 according to The Economist's tracker of YouGov polling. The administration's resumption of strikes on Iran in mid-July may be to blame."
right
"Retardweek"
"You fucking retards are a joke"
What each side left out
The right left out — covered by the Newsweek & Forbes
- Any alternative polling showing strong public support for border enforcement
- Substantive critique of Reuters/Ipsos methodology
- The narrowing spread is still Republican-favored (40-38)
The center left out — covered by the Asbury Park Press
- Explicit acknowledgment that a two-point Republican lead means Republicans still lead on immigration despite 'collapse' framing
- Any right-leaning pollster showing enforcement popularity
The center left out — covered by the Asbury Park Press
- Fox News poll showing higher (39%) approval is noted but not emphasized as a counterweight in narrative pieces
What's actually true?
[verified] 40 percent of registered voters said Republicans had the better approach on immigration, versus 38 percent who chose Democrats, the lowest spread of Trump's second term
[unverified] Republicans led by 26 points on immigration in January 2025 after Trump was inaugurated
[verified] Trump's overall approval fell to 33% with 64% disapproval in the Reuters/Ipsos poll taken Aug. 14-17
[verified] The Reuters/Ipsos poll included 1,166 U.S. adults and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points
[verified] 80 percent of Americans, including 87% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans, think the Iran war will go on for an extended period
[unverified] When Trump returned to office in January 2025, 48 percent of Americans approved of his handling of immigration
[verified] For the first time in about a decade, more voters (38%) prefer Democrats to handle the economy versus Republicans (35%)
[verified] Different pollsters show a range of Trump approval numbers, from Quinnipiac at 32% to Fox News at 39%
The narrative clash
Whether Republicans still lead Democrats on immigration
Left: The poll showed that 40 percent of registered voters said that Republicans had the better approach on immigration policy, compared to 38 percent who chose Democrats. That percentage point spread is the lowest of Trump's second term
Right: Trump's support on immigration, one of his strongest issues, has plummeted alongside his approval rating, a new poll shows
Trump's current approval rating level
Left: 33 percent of respondents in the four-day survey said they approved of Trump's performance. 64 percent disapproved.
Right: Fox News has Trump with a 39% approval rating.
53 sources analyzed
WVPE U.S. News & World Report The Washington Post NPR Pew Research Center WNYC BBC NPR Illinois Axios Bloomberg.com CTV News South China Morning Post The Hill The Japan Times Toronto Star livemint.com Briefs Finance NewsCord Goshen News Enidnews.com Click2Houston Washington Times VPM KSAT Japan Wire by Kyodo News WCBU Peoria 10TV WRAL News-Press NOW KNKX Public Radio WDHN Iowa Public Radio Oregon Public Broadcasting - OPB WGLT WSIU NEWS WEKU WKMS WYPR WLRN KRWG Public Media WGCU KOSU WFSU News WBHM WUSF Utah Public Radio Newsweek WFDD Yahoo! Search Charlie Kirk Forbes The Economist Asbury Park Press