Trump approval at new lows in polling days before midterms

President Trump’s approval ratings have hit new lows shortly before this year’s midterms, according to fresh polls from The New York Times/Siena University and CNN.

In the Times/Siena poll , 36 percent of respondents said they either “strongly approve” or “somewhat approve” of Trump’s job performance, while another 59 percent said they either “somewhat disapprove” or “strongly disapprove.” Five percent didn’t respond or were unsure about how they felt about Trump’s job performance.

The Times reported Tuesday that Trump’s 36 percent approval was a record low for all Times/Siena polls.

In the CNN poll , 32 percent of respondents said they either “approve strongly” or “approve moderately” of Trump’s job performance, while sixty-seven percent of respondents said they either “disapprove strongly” or “disapprove moderately.” CNN also reported Tuesday that Trump’s approval rating in the poll was historically low .

Both polls come less than two weeks out from this year’s midterms, in which Trump and Republicans are facing an uphill battle due to issues like the unpopular Iran war, concerns about the cost of living, gas prices and the president’s own unpopularity.

According to a polling average from Decision Desk HQ, Trump’s approval rating was sitting at 39.2 percent on Wednesday morning, while his disapproval rating was 59.1 percent.

Energy concerns are also a key issue in this year’s midterms, with the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the oil industry, closed amid the Iran war. The strait’s closure has driven up oil and gas prices, with the average cost of a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. at about $4.26 on Wednesday morning , up from about $3.05 last year at the same time.

The CNN poll took place from Oct. 15 to 18, featuring 1,701 people and a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points. The Times/Siena poll took place from Oct. 12 to 19 and featured 3,494 voters and a margin of error of 1.9 percentage points.