Trump's foreign policy approval plummets to historic low

A new poll shows that President Donald Trump's approval rating on his handling of foreign policy has dipped to its lowest since he returned to the White House, according to reports Friday.

A new Marist poll found that only 37% of adults in the United States approve of how Trump has handled foreign policy, Newsweek reported. The results were gathered from January 12 to 13 and showed that 56% of those polled disapproved of Trump's international actions, while 7% were unsure.

The changes in Trump's international policy approval highlighted how Americans have responded to the capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and the military incursion of that country, and Trump's continued threats to seize Greenland — signaling a major challenge for the Trump administration and growing concern among voters. Trump's moves could put the Republican Party in a tough spot ahead of the midterms in November.

"These figures represent Trump’s lowest net approval on foreign policy (-19 points) with the pollsters during his second term, with it dropping from 41 percent in July 2025 and 39 percent in April 2025," according to Newsweek.

Other recent polls, including CNN's new polling results Friday and a recent AP-NORC poll, echoed similar responses among voters.

About six in 10 Americans disapprove of Trump's international policies, according to the AP-NORC poll conducted from January 8 to 11. That survey also found that a majority of Americans — 56% — felt Trump had "gone too far" with his use of military interventions in other countries.

The White House has argued that Trump has a different approach compared to past presidents.

"President Trump was not elected to preserve the status quo—he is a visionary leader who is always generating creative ideas to bolster U.S. national security," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Newsweek.

“Many of this president’s predecessors recognized the strategic logic of acquiring Greenland, but only President Trump has had the courage to pursue this idea seriously," Kelly said.

“As the president said, NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the United States, and Greenlanders would be better served if protected by the United States from modern threats in the Arctic region,” she added.