Asian American support for Trump plummets, new poll shows

A 63-percentage-point drop in President Donald Trump’s approval among Asian American voters between July and September marks one of the sharpest demographic reversals of his presidency, the latest AtlasIntel poll reveals.

By the numbers: Asian American voters were more evenly split in AtlasIntel’s July survey, with 57% approving and 43% disapproving of Trump. Around this period, Trump announced a new round of tariffs that hit Southeast Asian nations harder, especially Laos and Myanmar. By late August, Trump announced plans to allow 600,000 Chinese students into U.S. universities, more than double the 277,000 currently enrolled. Two months after the July poll, the picture had reversed: just 26% approved while 75% disapproved, flipping the president’s then-positive net rating to -49 points.

Timing proved significant in understanding the September decline. Aside from economic policy, immigration enforcement and political rhetoric compound the drop in support. AtlasIntel conducted its latest poll from Sept. 12-16, a week after federal agents detained more than 300 South Korean workers in Georgia before deporting them and sparking diplomatic tension between Washington and Seoul. Recent polling from other firms showed similar results: Washington Post-Ipsos measured 66% disapproval among Asian voters, while Harvard CAPS-Harris recorded 62%.

Why this matters: The decline challenges what Republicans viewed as a breakthrough with Asian American voters. While former Vice President Kamala Harris won 54% of the overall Asian American vote, Trump’s share grew to 39%, marking a five-point increase from 2020. The erosion, however, appears to have started months ago. In December 2024, 60% of Asians viewed Trump unfavorably, but this skyrocketed to 71% by June, an AAPI Data and AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll showed. The shift was especially pronounced among Asian independents, with unfavorable views reaching 70% and surpassing the 52% recorded among all independent voters.

The big picture: The Asian American trend reflects a broader pattern of declining approval. Nationally, disapproval climbed from 51% to 53% while approval slipped from 47% to 45% in another September poll by Echelon Insights. Likely more concerning for Republicans, every swing state Trump won in 2024 now shows negative approval ratings: Pennsylvania sits at -13, Michigan at -12, Nevada at -12, Georgia at -11, Wisconsin at -10, North Carolina at -9 and Arizona at -7. The November 2026 midterms will suggest whether Trump can reverse these trends.