A new national poll shows that while President Donald Trump‘s approval ratings continue to plummet amid a sustained affordability crisis, Black Americans are especially unhappy under the second Trump presidency.
According to a New York Times/Sienna poll, Black Americans were more likely than any other racial group to disapprove of Trump’s job performance and say the country is heading in the wrong direction.
When asked if they approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president, 59% of all Americans said they disapprove. Aggregated by race, 83% of Black Americans said they disapproved of the Trump presidency, while 71% of Hispanics, 51% of whites, and 65% other races or ethnicities said they disapprove.
Black Americans were also more likely to say the United States is headed in the wrong direction (80%) and that economic conditions were fair/poor (89%). By contrast, 53% of whites said the country was headed in the wrong direction, and 70% of whites said economic conditions were fair or poor. Hispanics were slightly more likely than whites to say the U.S. was going in the wrong direction (58%) and that the economy was fair or poor (86%).
The new poll detailing Black America’s dissatisfaction with President Trump, the state of the economy, and the overall direction of the economy is unlikely to be a surprise. Eighty-three percent of Black Americans voted against Trump in the 2024 election, according to Pew Research. What’s more, Black Americans are suffering the most under Trump’s presidency.
As theGrio previously reported, Black Americans are experiencing the highest unemployment rate of any other group at levels not seen since the coronavirus pandemic in 2021. In April, the Black unemployment rate increased to 7.3%, which is significantly higher than the national rate of 4.3%.
Additionally, research firms find that Black Americans are also disproportionately feeling the economic pain points of Trump’s war in Iran and global tariffs, which are driving up gas prices, energy costs, and the costs of goods. Trump’s policies have also negatively impacted Black businesses, which experience systemic barriers to capital to help them stay afloat.
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies published a report titled “State of the Dream 2026: From Regression to Signs of a Recession,” which highlights real signs that a “Black recession” is already underway as a result of Trump’s policies, which have included an anti-DEI agenda and the overturning of civil rights era policies and programs designed to address racial inequality and advance diversity.
The latest blow to Black America has been the rollback of voting rights protections after the Supreme Court’s conservative majority — three of whom were appointed by Trump during his first term — gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in its Louisiana v. Callais decision. The key provision, the court ruled, no longer protects majority-Black districts from political gerrymandering.
The conservative justices also made it harder for Black voters to prove racial discrimination, arguing that it is permissible for Republicans to target districts with a plurality of Black voters because it’s based on politics, and not race.
According to the new New York Times/Sienna poll, 81% of Black Americans said that if the 2026 midterm elections were held today, they would vote for the Democratic candidate over a Republican candidate. By comparison, 42% of white voters and 54% of Hispanics say they would vote for a Democrat over a Republican.
As a result of the Supreme Court’s Callais ruling, several southern states have moved to redraw congressional maps to eliminate majority-Black districts, threatening the viability of the Black vote. Democrats and civil rights leaders are now working to organize against the rollbacks of Black political power in the United States, while also trying to mobilize Black voters to the polls.
Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, tells theGrio that the challenge in mobilizing Black voters lies in young Black voters, who may not see the connection between the current fight to protect voting rights and “the tangibles” they care about. He said groups like BVM are working to connect those dots on the ground.
“If you’re frustrated about gas prices because of an illegal war that’s taking place, guess what…that’s connected to whether or not you’ve got a gerrymandered Congress that will actually represent the people instead of just following a dictator,” said Albright. He continued, “If you’re upset about the health care or about SNAP benefits that our communities have lost, guess what? That is directly connected to whether or not we’ve got fair representation in Congress that can do something about these issues.”
He added, “It’s not just a philosophical case. It’s just not a concept of democracy and voting rights…it’s very much connected to the daily issues that we’re struggling with every day.”
