Trump’s Leadership in Early October Finds Strong Voter Backing : I&I/TIPP Poll

“In general, do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president?”

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Texas Insider Report) — Despite nonstop media efforts trying to create controversy or question his administration – not to mention the controvery surrounding Democrat's #SchumerShutdown, September’s news-filled month that included the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and the now-successful effors to end the Israel-Hamas conflict – President Donald Trump’s "favorability" and "approval" ratings remained rock solid in early October, says the latest I&I/TIPP Poll.

So just how strongly is President Trump viewed as the nation moves into the final quarter of 2025? And has anything diminished Mr. Trump’s overall approval ratings during the last 30 days?

Every month, I&I/TIPP asks Americans the following question:
 
Among those participating in this month’s National Online Poll of 1,459 adults taken between Sept. 30th and Oct. 2nd, 43% of Americans held a "favorable opinion" of Trump’s leadership, while 46% described their opinions as "unfavorable."

Those numbers are virtually identical statistically, and remained largely unchanged from September’s 43% favorable, and 47% unfavorable readings.

Meanwhile, 11% were either “not familiar enough to say” (7%,) or "not sure" (4%).

The early October figures remained consistent with the grades he received in both August and September – when 40% gave the president “good” grades, read as As and Bs.
 

• The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points.

For his top three grades, among the 1,459 adults participating:
 

• “Handling the immigration, and the border security situation” held steady at 45%, the same grade as in September;
• “Handling violence and crime in the country” was down a point at 40%; and
• “Restoring America’s Core Values” remained unchanged at 38%.

So overall, given the degree of political polarization in the U.S. during the past month, President Trump’s scores remained surprisingly solid and imperturbable. No matter what Trump’s varied successes may be, he has overcome the disdain and outright hatred of many who politically oppose him.

And, policy successes do often lead to political acceptance.

September’s news-filled month – which included the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, renewed efforts to end the Israel-Hamas conflict, and U.S. attacks on South American cartels’ drug boats – failed to diminish Trump’s overall poll readings.

The solidity comes from continued strong readings among:
 

• Republicans – at 80% favorable and 12% unfavorable
• Democrats – at 14% favorable and 78% unfavorable, and
• Independents – at 34% favorable, 54% unfavorable.

But there are other interesting differences in favorability within demographic subgroups.

For instance, in October, as in previous months, there’s a persistent difference between men (50% favorable in October, 41% unfavorable) and women (37% favorable, 50% unfavorable). That could mean the are lots of interesting, but contentious, dinner-table conversation in America these days.

A second question I&I/TIPP asks each month:
 
There were some surprises. For instance, Americans tend to think of cities as overwhelmingly liberal, and thus political poison for any right-of-center politician. Yet, Trump gets 47% job approval, versus 44% disapproval in the nation’s cities. His worst scores come in the suburbs: 40% job approval, 50% job disapproval. Rural areas are somewhere in between: 42% job approval, 44% disapproval.

It was noted above that Trump doesn’t do as well with women as with men.

Single women give him only 32% approval, as compared to 54% disapproval, for the job he’s doing. But married women are very different: 42% approve, 44% disapprove. That’s a 22-point “favorability gap” just within the female category, based solely on marital status.

But probably the most predictable results in terms of Trump’s job favorability come from looking at the ideology of voters:

• Conservatives – 76% approve, 17% disapprove
• Moderates – 32% approve, 56% disapprove, and
• Liberals – 15% approve, 79% disapprove

So how do Americans view Trump’s leadership? I&I/TIPP asks Americans the following question every month:
 
For October, 42% called Trump’s leadership either “very strong” (27%,) or “strong” (15%), up a percentage point from September. “Moderate” was the response for 16% of those in the poll.

On the other end, 38% described Trump’s leadership as “weak” (10%) or “very weak” (28%), a single percentage-point decline from last month. Only 4% said they weren’t sure in October.

Regionally, Trump’s highest favorability ranking is in the Northeast (47% favorable, 43% unfavorable,), an area usually thought to be the nation’s most liberal. But he also does very well in the South (46% favorable, 43% unfavorable), where Republican voter registration tends to be higher than Democratic registration.

It’s no great shock that Trump gets lowest marks in the West (38% favorable, 50% unfavorable), where ultra-blue progressive cities dominate the voting landscape. But that’s followed closely by the Midwest (40% favorable, 49% unfavorable), which may be viewed as unexpected if only because Trump has aimed many of his policies at reviving the Midwest’s industrial economy.