It 's a glaring number in a national poll that 's making headlines . President Barack Obama 's approval rating dropped 8 percentage points over the past month to 45 % , the president 's lowest rating in more than 18 months , according to a CNN/ORC International survey released on Monday . And Obama 's disapproval rating soared 9 points to 54 % since mid-May . CNN Poll : Obama approval falls as controversies pile up . Even more surprising : The overall decline in his approval rating was partially fueled by a plunge in support from younger Americans , a huge base of Obama 's support . Last month , nearly two-thirds of those in the 18-29 age group gave the president a thumbs up . His approval rating among that bracket fell 17 points in Monday 's poll and now stands at 48 % . The CNN/ORC International survey was conducted last Tuesday through Thursday . It comes as the White House has been dealing with controversies over a government surveillance program ; IRS targeting of tea party and other conservative groups ; continuing fallout over the deadly terror attack on the diplomatic compound in Benghazi , Libya ; and the Justice Department 's secret collection of journalists phone records as part of a government investigation into classified leaks . Lawmaker says details on NSA-thwarted plots coming . So what 's behind the dramatic shift of younger Americans , who along with nonwhite voters had been the most loyal part of the Obama coalition ? `` One explanation may be that younger Americans are more likely to feel they are personally affected by the surveillance programs , '' said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland . `` More than half of all senior citizens , for example , think that the government has not collected their personal information , and since older Americans are less likely to use the Internet , they may be right . Among younger Americans , two-thirds believe that the federal government has gathered their personal data . '' Julian Zelizer , a Princeton University professor and CNN contributor , said the shift is n't all about scandals but goes deeper . GOP tries to keep focus on IRS targeting scandal . `` Part of it is probably that for younger people , the surveillance story is not a scandal but a sign the promise of 2008 was not fulfilled -- they see this and say he did n't do what he said he was going to do , '' Zelizer said . `` Part of this is a frustration in the gridlock in Washington . It 's not just the scandals but the sense that nothing is going to get done . ( Obama ) has n't been able to change Washington in that way . Instead of dealing with immigration or jobs , we 're dealing with IRS and surveillance , '' he said . `` People in that age group are also struggling with jobs , '' Zelizer added . `` That 's a constituency is easy to disappoint . '' See more of the poll . Holland said that shows up in the `` honest and trustworthy '' category . `` Today , there are only minor differences between older and younger Americans on that measure , but a month ago , two-thirds of younger Americans considered Obama honest -- at least 10 points higher than any other age category . So maybe one reason why Obama fell so far with younger Americans is that he had farther to fall , '' he said . So has Obama lost the under-30 crowd ? John Geer , chairman of Vanderbilt University 's political science department , said probably not , but he could . `` I suspect the things that favor the Democrats will trump this in the long run , '' Geer said . `` The youth wants to see more tolerance and more inclusion . While the youth has been favoring the Democrats in the past few years , neither ( party ) should see the partisan leanings of this group as set . '' Zelizer agreed that it 's too soon to look at the plunge for bigger implications . `` Democrats should see this as their warning -- they do n't have to read this as a long-range trend , '' he said . `` This immigration bill is still there , that 's his chance . Get that bill through . It 's not just about rhetoric and ideas but actual policy and change . '' Snowden claims online Obama expanded 'abusive ' security .
Obama approval rating drops 8 percentage points over the past month . Lowest rating in more than 18 months , according to a CNN/ORC International survey . Drop fueled partly by a plunge in support from younger Americans . Obama has been dealing with controversies while priorities stall , job market sluggish .