The deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., and the possibility of similar actions elsewhere in the U.S. may be contributing to President Donald Trump's approval rating remaining below 50% in a new poll.

Trump's Approval Rating Drops

In office for more than seven months, Trump’s approval ratings have been below 50% in many polls of registered voters.

A new poll from Emerson College shows Trump with a 45% approval rating and 47% disapproval rating. This represents a slight change from the July poll’s 46% approval rating and 47% disapproval rating. Trump's approval rating was also 45% in June and April.

The poll found that Trump's approval rating could be impacted by his recent decision to deploy the National Guard in Washington, D.C.

In the poll, 48% say they approve of the National Guard in D.C., with 45% disapproving. Other cities don't get the same result, with voters more likely to disapprove than approve of sending the National Guard to Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago.

Also, 48% of voters disapprove of Trump deploying the National Guard to 19 states to assist with ICE, while 44% approve.

The economy remains the top issue for voters in the latest poll at 33%, followed by threats to democracy (24%) and immigration (12%).

In the poll, 41% of voters said their family's finances are worse off than a year ago, up from 37% in the July poll. This could be one of the factors also hurting Trump's approval rating.

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Gavin Newsom Gains In Poll

While Trump's approval rating declined slightly and hasn't fared well in recent polls, California Governor Gavin Newsom is having the opposite effect.

A current rival to Trump, Newsom is rising in the polls ahead of the 2028 election.

Voters asked to pick who they would most likely support for the Democratic nomination in the 2028 election selected the following:

• Gavin Newsom: 25%
• Pete Buttigieg: 16%
• Kamala Harris: 11%
• Josh Shapiro: 5%
• JB Pritzker: 4%
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: 4%

In the August poll, Newsom gained 13 points from July, while Harris slipped two points and Buttigieg held steady at 16%. Some of Newsom's gains came from undecided voters, whose share dropped from 23% in July to 16% in August.

"Governor Newsom's support surged across key demographic groups, highlighted by a 12-point increase among voters under 30 (6% to 18%) an 18-point increase among voters over 70 (13% to 31%), and a 14-point increase among both Black (9% to 23%) and White (10% to 24%) voters," Emerson College Executive Director of Polling Spencer Kimball said.

Voters were asked to pick between Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Gavin Newsom in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup of the 2028 presidential election in the poll. Here are the results, with the July results in parentheses:

• J.D. Vance: 44% (45%)
• Gavin Newsom: 44% (42%)
• Undecided: 12% (13%)

The latest poll shows Vance and Newsom tied in the head-to-head poll, with the California governor gaining support in recent months.

"Newsom's recent gains are driven largely by younger voters 18-29: after splitting this group in June (39% to 38%), he now holds a clear lead, 45% to 28%," Kimball added.

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