Trump approval falls to 33%, lowest of his presidency, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s approval rating fell to the lowest level of his presidency, ‌with an overwhelming majority of Americans concerned the Iran war will last a long time, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded on Monday.

Just 33% of respondents in the four-day survey said they approved of Trump’s performance in the White House, while 64% disapproved. Trump’s approval rating, down from 35% in a poll that closed earlier this month and ​lower than at any point in his current term, has now tied the lowest level of his prior term reached in December 2017.

After ​returning to the White House in 2025 with just under half the country approving of his presidency, Trump’s popularity ⁠this year took a hit after he ordered strikes on Iran alongside U.S. ally Israel. The ensuing conflict paralyzed a fifth of the global oil trade, ​triggering a surge in the price of gasoline that is weighing on U.S. households – and on Trump’s Republican allies defending congressional majorities in November midterm elections.

Trump, who ​campaigned on promises to keep inflation in check and avoid long-lasting wars, initially pledged the conflict with Iran would take a few weeks. But Iran has proved resilient and has kept the oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz largely bottled up even as the conflict has cooled.

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.

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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.