A new Gallup poll released this week found President Donald Trump's approval rating is 40%, a downswing from the first several months of his term but roughly in line with polls published earlier this summer.

The poll places the president in what has been a summer-long approval rating plateau that has at times dipped to historically low levels. These numbers are largely driven by nearly-unanimous Republican support, overwhelming Democratic opposition and weakening levels of support from independents, further underlining the partisan nature of support for Trump and his second term.

Though up a few points from July's 37% approval rating, Gallup's August number is within the the poll's margin of error, with pollsters calling the new poll's 40% mark "in line" with June and July surveys. In comparison, the president received approval ratings of 43% or higher in each monthly Gallup poll from January to May. Overall, Gallup's analysis puts Trump's second-term average to date at 42%.

The poll was conducted Aug. 1-20, with a random sample of 1,094 U.S. adults living in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The margin of error is ±4 percentage points.

Partisan differences hit peak level in Gallup poll

Gallup's August poll shows a historically high partisan divide, tying numbers last seen in October 2020 on the eve of the presidential election, and close to George W. Bush's ratings in 2008 during the global financial crisis.

As has been the trend in nearly all major national polls over the past several months, Trump's approval numbers are deeply divided among party. A near-unanimous percentage of Republicans in the poll − 93% − approve of the president's job performance. Among Democrats, that figure is flipped, with 97% disapproving, and just 1% approving.

Gallup's last national poll, conducted July 7-21, measured a steep decline in Trump's support among independents, plummeting 17 points since he took office in January. In the latest August poll, that number has slightly rebounded, now at 35% of independents approving compared to last month's all-time low of 29%. However, it still shakes out to a double-digit dip since Trump's second term began.

The poll revealed a 76-point gap between Republicans and Democrats when asked if they are satisfied with the direction of the country. 76% of Republicans said they were. Less than 1% of Democrats agreed.

What is Trump's approval on economy, foreign affairs, education?

When it comes to specific issues in the August poll, approval numbers followed a similar pattern.

Respondents gave roughly the same marks to Trump's handling of the economy and foreign affairs as his overall job performance, coming in at 37% and 39% approvals, respectively. Gallup's analysts note Americans' opinions on the two issues have not changed much over the past month since the previous survey, but are still five points lower than they were early in his second term in February.

On education, 38% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s handling of education, Gallup's survey says, including 41% of parents of children attending K-12 school. This is Gallup’s first rating of Trump on education during his second term.

What is Trump's average approval rating?

A historical analysis and average by Gallup shows Trump's approval ratings in the first July of both of his terms are lower than those of any other modern president. In comparison, former President Joe Biden had a 50% average approval rating in July 2021, while former President Barack Obama's first and second-term July approval ratings were 57% and 46%, respectively. Averages for August are not yet available.

Aggregations of recent approval polling from The New York Times and RealClearPolitics place Trump's approval at 44% and 46%, respectively, with disapproval rates of 53% and 50%, as of Aug. 27.

Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Partisanship hits peak in Gallup's new Trump approval rating poll. See results.

Reporting by Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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