60% of Americans are dissatisfied with Donald Trump's policies. Not only because of high prices in the USA. They also disapprove of his immigration policy, but also of the tariffs he imposes on other countries.
In many of their statements, US President Donald Trump and his spokeswoman Caroline Levitt claim that the prices of eggs, dairy products, fruit and fuel have fallen since the beginning of Trump's second term. According to them, this is the result of the administration's constant struggle to lower prices.
However, young people do not feel this alleged change for the better and are expressing dissatisfaction on social networks, writes the German public television ARD. "I now have to calculate which products are essential, worry about how to fill my tank. I live further out of town because I can't afford to pay rent there", writes one young woman. Another complains that she has to pay $2,200 in rent for a two-bedroom apartment.
Like Biden's rating, but much worse than Obama's
According to current data, 60 percent of American citizens are dissatisfied with Trump's policies, according to sociological analyses by the Silver Bulletin platform. The result is the same as Joe Biden's a year after taking office, but it is much worse than Barack Obama's at the same time in his term.
High prices are not the only reason, explains ARD. Trump's rating is low in relation to other policies of his administration. It's not just inflation and the economy. The US president is also not rated very highly by Americans on issues such as immigration policy - a topic that used to win over many people.
Trump and immigration policy
In the 2024 elections, immigration policy was at the center of Donald Trump's campaign, and many voted for him precisely because of his promises on this issue. His rating remained high even when Trump decided to send the US National Guard to guard the border with Mexico. Ellie McNaughton-Dawson of Silver Bulletin tells ARD that the negative trend is related to the large-scale operations of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency ICE in several cities in the US.
According to the expert, Trump's customs policy has also negatively affected Trump's rating.
In terms of foreign policy, opinions are rather mixed. A quick and short-term intervention in another country, such as the one the US carried out in Venezuela earlier this year, is generally seen as a positive development by most Americans. Other foreign policy actions by Trump, however, are not so well received. Sociologist McNaughton-Dawson notes that between 80 and 90 percent of Americans disapprove of the US's attempts to take over Greenland, but "most people are more interested in domestic politics anyway," she adds.
Unmet expectations
Young wavering voters in particular are turning their backs on Trump, writes ARD. Jesse Arm, vice president of the conservative think tank "Manhattan Institute", confirms this assessment and explains that while the hard-line Republican electorate continues to support Trump, wavering voters, especially young ones, no longer trust him. Their expectations that he would solve at least some of their problems have not been met, and they are disappointed.
On the other hand, Trump knows when to take a step back, Arm notes. That is why he has decided to somewhat reduce the aggressive operations of ICE.
The midterm elections in November: how big is the risk for Trump?
Will Trump and the Republicans, against the backdrop of these sentiments among Americans, be able to prevent a loss in the midterm elections? According to Jesse Arm, this is possible. "He needs to demonstrate sympathy for those who don't think things are going very well, he needs to show them that he hears them." This is exactly how Bill Clinton managed to win the midterm elections years ago, Arm says.
But for Trump, this will not be very easy, because his main message is always "I keep winning!", the expert emphasizes and adds: "People just don't want to hear it anymore, and because of this, some successes even go unnoticed. Simply because Trump keeps bragging".
For example, objectively speaking, the economic situation is not bad at all, Arm says, pointing out that the US gross domestic product jumped by 1.4% in the last three months of 2025. In January, 130,000 new jobs were created, and unemployment fell from 4.4 to 4.3 percent.
"These positive developments are going largely unnoticed because people just don't want to hear the administration pretend to be incredible anymore and refuse to admit they made mistakes," Arm said. If Republicans want to win the midterm elections, they'll have to hope Donald Trump works harder.