Trump approval ratings historically low compared to other presidents
The Excerpt
USA TODAY
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🗓️ 3 October 2025
⏱️ 11 minutes
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Summary
President Donald Trump's approval ratings are historically low compared to other presidents, but have mostly plateaued in recent months.
USA TODAY First Amendment Reporter BrieAnna Frank breaks down a ruling against the Trump administration that found Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem misused their authority to target non-citizen pro-Palestinians for deportation.
The White House is encouraging leaders at nine universities to sign a compact committing their schools to adopt President Donald Trump's policy agenda for higher education in exchange for preferential access to federal funds.
The Pentagon tells Congress Trump has determined the U.S. is in 'armed conflict' with cartels.
USA TODAY National Music Writer Melissa Ruggieri chats about Taylor Swift's new album - "The Life of a Showgirl" - out today.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Your first great love story is free when you sign up for a free 30-day trial at audible.co. |
| 0:05.5 | That's audible.co.uk slash wondery. |
| 0:16.0 | Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and today is Friday, October 3, 2025. |
| 0:22.1 | This is USA Today's The Excerpt. Today, how do Americans feel about Trump in his second term? Because a judge |
| 0:30.1 | makes a First Amendment-related ruling against the Trump administration, and we chat about Taylor Swift's |
| 0:35.0 | new album. |
| 0:41.4 | We're getting new data into how Americans feel about President Donald Trump and his stint in office a second time around. |
| 0:43.5 | Ahead of this week's federal government shutdown, a New York Times-Siena poll taken September 22nd |
| 0:48.4 | through the 27th found that voters kept Trump's approval rating steady at 43%. |
| 0:53.6 | The Times reported that at the start of his term, Trump's approval rating steady at 43%. The Times reported that at the start of his |
| 0:55.6 | term, Trump's approval rating fell from its post-election highs and remains weak compared with his |
| 1:00.7 | predecessors at this point in their presidencies. Additionally, the poll found 26% said they would |
| 1:06.0 | blame congressional Republicans and Trump for a shutdown, while 19% pointed their fingers at the Democrats, though |
| 1:12.1 | most said both parties would be at fault. Meanwhile, a historical analysis by Gallup shows Trump's |
| 1:17.1 | approval ratings in September of his first years in office during both terms are lower than any |
| 1:22.3 | other modern president at the same time in their administrations. An appeal survey conducted |
| 1:27.1 | September 22nd through the 28th, found Trump's approval rating |
| 1:30.4 | stands at 40%, up slightly since August and on par with April and June. |
| 1:35.8 | You can read a full breakdown of some of these polls with a link in today's show notes. |
| 1:49.0 | The judge has ruled that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Christy Knoem, along with their subordinates, misused their authority to target non-citizen pro-Palestinians |
| 1:54.9 | for deportation primarily on account of their First Amendment protected political speech. |
| 1:59.8 | I spoke with USA Today, First Amendment reporter Brianna Frank for more. |
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