Exclusive-Trump approval falls to lowest of his term over prices and Epstein files, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's approval rating fell to 38%, the lowest since his return to power, with Americans unhappy about his handling of the cost of living and the investigation into the late ​convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

The four-day poll, which concluded on Monday, comes as ‌Trump's grip on his Republican Party shows signs of weakening.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Tuesday is voting on a measure to force the release of Justice Department files ‌on Epstein -- a move that Trump opposed for months and which has seen one of his onetime closest supporters in Congress, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, turn critic. Trump reversed his position on Sunday as lawmakers prepared to move forward without him.

The survey showed Trump's overall approval sliding two percentage points since a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in early November.

Trump started his second term in office with 47% of Americans giving him a thumbs up. ⁠The nine-point decline since January leaves his overall ‌popularity near the lows seen during his first term in office and also close to the weakest ratings garnered by his Democratic predecessor in the White House, Joe Biden. Biden's approval rating sank as low as 35% ‍while Trump's first term popularity fell as low as 33%.

Trump has weathered a host of crises during his political career. The new Reuters/Ipsos poll showed his approval rating remained strong among Republicans.

This year, the president has been particularly dogged by perceptions he isn't doing enough to help households with everyday expenses, an ​issue that also hit Biden's administration hard and contributed to Trump's victory over Biden's vice president, Kamala Harris, in ‌last year's presidential election.

SHARP CONCERNS ABOUT COST OF LIVING

Just 26% of Americans say Trump is doing a good job at managing the cost of living, down from 29% earlier this month. The pace of inflation has remained high by historic standards since Trump took office in January, with U.S. consumer prices up 3% in the 12 months through September, even as the job market has weakened. Some 65% of respondents - including one in three Republicans - disapprove of Trump's performance on the cost of living.

Trump's signature economic policy push has ⁠been to hike taxes on imported goods in a bid to prop up American ​manufacturing, but many economists believe the policy has led to higher prices. Expressing frustration over ​public perception of his handling of the economy, Trump last week dialed back import taxes on coffee, beef, bananas and other staples.

His sagging popularity could make Republicans more vulnerable in next year's congressional elections, though the Reuters/Ipsos ‍poll showed voters continue to see Trump'⁠s Republican Party as having a better approach to economic policy.

EPSTEIN CONCERNS

Only 20% of Americans - including just 44% of Republicans - approve of how Trump has handled the Epstein case, the Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. Some 70% of poll respondents -⁠ including 87% of Democrats and 60% of Republicans - said they believe the government is hiding information about Epstein's clients.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was ‌conducted online, surveyed 1,017 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of about 3 percentage points.

‌(Reporting by Jason Lange; editing by Scott Malone and Deepa Babington)