Rubbish Check
Guardian US · 5 October 2026
source“Trump approval ratings plummet to new low, polls show”
R3/ 10
Lightly altered
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates Guardian US's claim that Trump's approval ratings "plummet to new low" a 3/10 because the underlying Reuters/Ipsos figure genuinely hit a record low of 32%, but the headline's verb "plummet" implies a sudden drop that the article never quantifies against a prior reading.
The Verdict
Lightly altered. The core fact checks out: the article cites a genuine Reuters/Ipsos record low and a separate NBC News/Telemundo poll showing Trump cratering with Latino voters, so this isn't invented. The one iteration of spin is the headline verb "plummet," which signals a sharp, sudden fall but is never backed by a before-and-after number in the piece itself.
What actually happened
A Reuters/Ipsos poll put Trump's approval at a record-low 32%, with the drop concentrated among independents and Latino voters who had backed him in 2024. A separate NBC News/Telemundo poll found just 24% of Hispanic Americans approve of his performance, while 59% of Latino voters said they prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress, roughly double the share two years ago. Trump dismissed the polling before a trip to Nebraska, blaming "CNN and the media," and some Republicans are reportedly distancing themselves from him ahead of the midterms.
Key facts
- Reuters/Ipsos: Trump's overall approval rating at a record-low 32%.
- NBC News/Telemundo (released the prior Sunday): only 24% of Hispanic Americans approve of Trump's performance.
- Same NBC/Telemundo poll: 59% of Latino voters now prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress, roughly double the share two years prior.
- No prior Reuters/Ipsos approval number is given in the article, so the scale of any "plummet" cannot be verified from the text itself; only that 32% is described as a new low.
What to watch for
Watch whether later coverage supplies the previous Reuters/Ipsos reading, that comparison is the real test of whether "plummet" or merely "declined further" is the honest verb. Also watch the Latino and independent subgroup numbers specifically, since those are driving the topline and could shift fast heading into the midterms.
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
