Trump sinks to record low approval rating due to Iran war in new poll
President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level since he returned to the White House, as rising gas and food prices take a toll on Americans, and the public expresses a growing dislike of his war in Iran, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The weekly poll released on March 24 showed that 36% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, a decrease of four percentage points (40%) since a similar Reuters poll was conducted last week.
Most Americans appear angry with the president as food and gas prices have surged since the United States and Israel’s joint attack on Iran early Feb. 28. The new Reuters poll said 25% approve of how Trump is handling the current cost of living, a centerpiece of his 2024 presidential election campaign.
The U.S.-Israel war with Iran is proving controversial with Americans, as similar nationwide polls conducted show that around half of voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of the war or the overall military actions in Iran. Trump’s approval rating was at 47% during his first days in office and has hovered at around 40% since last summer, the new poll noted.
Continuous low approval ratings for the president could be unsettling to Republicans seeking to maintain control of Congress after the crucial midterm election votes are all cast in November.
With the midterm primaries already underway, Trump’s standing within the Republican Party remains strong, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll. About 1 in 5 Republicans said they disapprove of the president’s overall performance in the White House, a slight change from about 1 in 7 from last week’s poll.
Yet, the percentage of Republicans polled who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the cost of living rose to 34% from 27% last week. The new Reuters/Ipsos weekly online poll of 1,272 American adults was conducted from March 20 to 23, and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
War remains heavy on Americans’ minds, poll says
The war in Iran, entering a fourth week, continues to weigh heavily on most Americans’ minds, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The poll discovered that 35% of Americans approve of the U.S. strikes on Iran, down from 37% in a similar poll conducted last week. Those figures remain higher than the first Reuters/Ipsos poll related to the war in Iran, conducted from February 28 to March 1. That poll found 27% of Americans approved of the strikes, 43% disapproved, and 29% were unsure at the time.
Overall, about 61% of those polled disapproved of the strikes, an increase from 59% who disapproved of the strikes from last week’s poll.
Despite Trump’s declining overall popularity, 38% of registered voters polled said Republicans had better stewardship of the U.S. economy, compared to 34% of voters who picked Democrats on the topic.