Trump considered dangerous, corrupt by majority in new poll

Data: The Economist/YouGov; Chart: Avery Lotz A slight majority of registered voters describe President Trump as corrupt and dangerous, a recent poll found, while just 14% say he isn't divisive. The big picture: Simply put, polling hasn't been pretty for the president — or for his Iran war, tariffs or other top priorities. Still, with the midterms weeks away, Trump has centered himself, making the election a referendum on his presidency. By the numbers: "Corrupt" (53%) and "dangerous" (51%) led the list of descriptors voters applied to Trump in the Sept. 11-14 The Economist-YouGov poll of 1,461 U.S. registered voters. Those words were followed by "out-of-touch" (47%), "cruel" (46%) and "bold" (45%). Just 18% said they'd use the word "steady" to describe the president. Worth noting: Democrats are testing an anti-corruption midterm message as Americans' perceptions of government corruption hit a 20-year high, per Gallup's trend, and polls show Americans believe the president has inappropriately profited from cryptocurrency while in office. The results broke sharply by party — 91% of Democrats and 62% of independents said Trump was corrupt, compared with 10% of Republicans. Republicans weren't universally positive: Less than half (49%) said they'd use the word "honest" to describe the president. Just 10% said it didn't describe him, while 41% had no opinion. Similarly, 38% of Republicans said he was steady, while 53% said they had no opinion. What they're saying: White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in an emailed statement that "President Trump has launched an all-out war on fraud across the entire federal government, holding criminals accountable and saving taxpayers billions of dollars." Ingle also accused Democrats in Congress of failing to stop waste, fraud and abuse in government. Zoom out: Trump's approval rating ticked up from the lowest point of his political career, recorded last month in Reuters-Ipsos' trend, this month. Some 35% of Americans approved of his performance, up from 33% in the late August poll, per Reuters. Between the lines: The last thing many Republicans want, Axios' Marc Caputo reports, is for Trump to make the midterms a vote on his popularity (or lack thereof). Still, Trump headlined both nights of the party's midterm convention in Dallas and pledged a $5,000 dividend to every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans keep control of Congress — a plan that would cost more than $1 trillion. Friction point: YouGov's polling found that a majority signaled they believe it's unlikely Trump actually follows through with the idea, which Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has said would require congressional approval. More than four in 10 (41%) said he definitely wouldn't do it, while an additional 16% said he probably wouldn't. More said it was a bad idea (45%) than those who said it was a good idea (38%). Methodology: This Economist-sponsored poll was taken September 11-14, 2026. Respondents were selected from YouGov's opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens, and screened for voter registration. The margin of error is ± 3.3%. Go deeper: Even some Republican voters sour on Trump

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