Rural Voter Support for Trump Slides Below Zero
For the first time since early 2025, President Donald Trump’s standing in the countryside has flipped to net disapproval, underscoring growing economic pressures on farming communities. A new national poll suggests that affordability concerns and global disruptions are reshaping traditional GOP strongholds.
In a recent national polling series, President Donald Trump’s approval rating among rural Americans—historically one of his most reliable bases—has fallen below zero for the first time since early 2025.
The Fox News poll released this week shows his standing across rural America has sharply deteriorated. His net approval among rural voters fell from +20 to -14, a 34-point swing since early 2025, and among rural white voters dropped from +27 to -6.
- The latest Fox News poll shows declining support across core voter groups, including Trump’s Republican base.
- Overall, just 29 percent of voters approved of Trump’s handling of the economy, while 71 percent disapproved, according to the survey, with just 30 percent of rural Americans approving and 70 percent disapproving.
- Farm bankruptcies surged 46 percent in 2025, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
- Rising fertilizer and fuel costs linked to the war in Iran and global energy disruptions are squeezing farmers.
- Controversy over Chinese farmland ownership has intensified frustration in rural communities.
Trump’s approval among rural voters turned negative this month, reflecting mounting dissatisfaction tied to economic and agricultural strains. Rural residents have been a Republican electoral pillar, and any erosion within this bloc could have significant implications for this year’s midterm elections.
Just 29 percent of voters approved of Trump’s handling of the economy nationally, with 71 percent disapproving; rural Americans tracked closely at 30 percent approval versus 70 percent disapproval. Inflation remained his weakest policy rating, at 24 percent approval to 76 percent disapproval overall—and 28 percent approval to 71 percent disapproval among rural voters.
Foreign policy scores stood at 38 percent approval to 62 percent disapproval nationally, with rural voters slightly more positive (42–58). Border security slipped into net negative territory for the first time in his term (49–51), though rural Americans still favored his approach 54–45. Trump’s handling of the recent China summit was underwater overall (45–54), while rural voters were narrowly positive at 50 percent approval to 49 percent disapproval.
Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the survey with Democrat Chris Anderson, noted the erosion: “Despite consistently strong GOP support, the president’s numbers are leaking a bit,” Shaw said. “Make no mistake; it’s all about affordability. Independents jumped ship in 2025, and now non-MAGA Republicans and other core constituencies are wavering.”
Financial strains in the farm sector appear to be a driving factor. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, farm bankruptcies jumped 46 percent in 2025, reflecting rising debt and production costs. The escalation of the Iran conflict has driven up fertilizer and diesel prices, putting additional pressure on farming operations.
“We’re not financially able” to operate as normal, said Willis Nelson, a Louisiana farmer, to MS Now. His family has cut back on fertilizer use because “we just don’t have the margin.”
“It’s tough, you know, very tough on us,” Nelson added, as his multigenerational farm faces the prospect of bankruptcy.
Ohio farmer Fred Yoder told US Farm Report, “It’s costing us about $1,500 of cash per day to run two tractors,” adding that fertilizer prices have soared. “I spent many years buying potash for $90 a ton, and now it’s $670 to $700 a ton. Our big problem is the input costs. I haven’t seen anything this bad since the 1980s.”
Reduced Chinese demand for U.S. agricultural exports, particularly soybeans, has left many producers with weaker prices and fewer reliable markets. Against this backdrop, during his trip to Beijing this month, Trump argued that restricting foreign ownership would depress land values, a stance that has unsettled farmers.
White House spokesman Kush Desai described the results as a short-term snapshot rather than a lasting shift, arguing that the U.S. economy has remained “resilient” under Trump and that “as this agenda continues taking effect, and as Congress passes more of the president’s healthcare and housing affordability agenda, the best is yet to come in the second Trump term.”
In a separate statement, spokesman Davis Ingle pointed to Trump’s 2024 victory as a definitive measure of support: “The ultimate poll was November 5th 2024 when nearly 80 million Americans overwhelmingly elected President Trump to deliver on his popular and commonsense agenda,” Ingle said, adding that the administration is “working tirelessly to create jobs, cool inflation, increase housing affordability, and more,” and arguing that the gains so far are “just the beginning.”
The survey was conducted May 15–18 among 1,002 registered voters nationwide. It was jointly run by Beacon Research, a Democratic-aligned firm, and Shaw & Company Research, a Republican-aligned firm, using a mix of live telephone interviews and online responses, with a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. Respondents were contacted via landlines, cellphones and text-to-web online surveys, drawn randomly from a national voter file to ensure representativeness.