Polls Show Trump's Approval Among White Working-Class and Rural Voters Falls but Stays Above 45 Percent

USA Today reported on July 21, 2026, that polling shows rising disapproval of President Trump's job performance among white working-class and rural voters who backed him strongly in 2024. Exit polling from that election found two out of three white working-class voters and nearly 70 percent of rural voters supported him.

A CBS poll in May 2026 found 54 percent of white non-college voters disapproved of his performance, up from 32 percent in February 2025.

A June 2026 Reuters poll found 48 percent of rural voters disapproved, compared with 34 percent shortly after he took office. A Fox News poll in April 2026 found only 38 percent of white non-college respondents approved of his handling of inflation. USA Today National Correspondent Chris Kenning interviewed voters who cited rising costs tied to the war in Iran.

Ashton Reed, a 22-year-old from Missouri who voted for Trump in 2024, was laid off from an HVAC job and found Affordable Care Act premiums for his wife had increased after pandemic-era subsidies expired at the end of 2025. Denver Feltner, who lives in an eastern Kentucky congressional district where 44 percent of residents rely on Medicaid, works two jobs and supports five children.

He reported his health insurance premiums doubled after the subsidies ended and after the Big Beautiful Bill imposed Medicaid work requirements.

Bob Ward, a Minnesota farmer operating 1,700 acres of corn and soybeans, said tariffs and a trade war with China reduced soybean purchases by Chinese buyers, with some orders shifting to South America. He also noted higher fuel and fertilizer costs linked to the Iran conflict, though he said he still supports the president.