Trump’s approval rating drops to lowest of his presidency

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to the lowest point of his presidency, with a large majority of Americans expressing concern that the country’s war with Iran could drag on for a long time, a Reuters/Ipsos poll has found.

The four-day survey, which concluded on Monday, found that only 33% of respondents approved of Trump’s performance in office, while 64% disapproved. This marks a decline from 35% in a poll conducted earlier this month, and is the lowest rating of Trump’s current term, matching the low point of his first term, recorded in December 2017.

Trump returned to the White House in 2025 with nearly half the country approving of him, but his popularity has slid this year following his decision to order strikes on Iran alongside Israel. The resulting conflict disrupted roughly a fifth of global oil trade, driving up gasoline prices in a way that has hit American households, and complicated things for Republicans defending their congressional majorities ahead of November’s midterms.

Some 80% of Americans, including 87% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans, think U.S. involvement in Iran “will go on for an extended period of time,” the Reuters/Ipsos poll found. Just 16% said the conflict would likely end in a few weeks.

Trump justifies high gas prices

Trump told a political rally in Garden City, New York, on Friday that paying “a tiny little bit more for your gasoline” is ​worth the cost of ensuring “a very evil country” could not have a nuclear weapon, one of his stated rationales for the war.

Throughout the conflict, the president has alternated between threats of escalation and assertions that a peace deal is imminent. Only one in five Americans – and just half of Republicans – think the war has been worth it, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

Concerns about the war and gasoline prices have Republicans nervous about their hopes of defending their slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 3 elections, and Democrats increasingly see the U.S. Senate also within their grasp.

Reuters/Ipsos polling this month has shown voters prefer Democrats ​over Republicans as better stewards of the economy for the first time in about a decade. The latest poll showed 38% of voters think Democrats will handle the economy better, compared to 35% who prefer the Republican approach. Democrats are also seen as better equipped to manage the cost of living.

The Republican approach to immigration has remained more popular than that of Democrats throughout Trump’s term, with a sharp fall in border crossings and sustained nationwide crackdown ordered by Trump. But Republicans are losing ground amid deadly confrontations and a surge in detainees, including children.

Some 40% of registered voters said Republicans have the better approach on immigration policy, compared to 38% who pick Democrats, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll. That 2 percentage point spread is the lowest of Trump’s term. Republicans led by 26 points in January 2025.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted online, gathered responses from 1,166 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points in either direction.