President Donald Trump's approval rating ticked up a few points in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, after it dipped last month to the lowest in his second term.

In the survey released Dec. 9, Trump had a 41% approval rating, compared with the Nov. 18 poll that put him at 38%. The most recent poll interviewed 4,434 adults nationwide and had a margin of error of 2 percentage points in either direction. His disapproval rate was 57%.

The slight increase is at least partially attributable to respondents' improved cost-of-living ratings, according to Reuters' analysis of the polling data. The issue has come to dominate domestic politics over the past few months, and reached a tipping point for the president's party in last month's off-year elections. Democrats in several key races, including in the much-watched New York City mayoral race, clinched easy victories by running on affordability platforms.

In response to Republicans' poor performance in the Nov. 4 elections, and a spike in concern over the 2026 midterm elections, Trump has ramped up efforts on the issue. In recent weeks, he has scaled back some of his tariff increases and pledged to combat high food prices.

Trump's performance on the cost of living, where he earned a 31% approval rating, is among his weakest popularity scores, Reuters reported. But the numbers are still up several points from last month's poll, which was at 26% in late November.

The president's GOP base has largely buoyed these latest figures, showing a 10-point rebound in support for the president's handling of the issue since Reuters/Ipsos' last poll in late November.

In the December poll, which lasted six days and closed on Monday, Dec. 8, 69% of Republicans rated Trump favorably on cost-of-living issues. Overall, 85% of Republicans said that they approved of his overall performance as president; that number is up from last month's 82%.

In the most recent Labor Department report in September, inflation increased 3% from a year earlier, slightly up from 2.9% in August.

Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's approval sees slight bump in poll amid focus on affordability

Reporting by Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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