(Reuters) – United States President Donald Trump’s approval rating has remained near the lowest levels of his political career in recent days, while most Americans expect gasoline prices to continue rising amid the war with Iran, a Reuters/Ipsos poll concluded on Monday showed.
Around 35% of respondents said they approved of Trump’s performance in the White House, the same rate as a previous Reuters/Ipsos survey carried out in mid-May. The index is slightly above the lowest approval rating of his current term – 34% in the Reuters/Ipsos round of April – and also close to the low of his first term, of 33%, recorded in December 2017.
The Republican leader has faced widespread 🏽 discontent in recent months over his decision to go to war with Iran, which led to a spike in fuel prices.
Although gasoline prices have fallen slightly in recent weeks amid bets on an end to the conflict with Iran, about 59% of respondents said they expect U.S. gasoline prices to worsen next year, while 17% believe they will improve, according to the survey conducted over six days. The rest of those interviewed said they were unsure or that prices would remain the same.
On February 28, Trump ordered military strikes against Iran, along with Israel, a US ally. Iran responded with counterattacks that practically paralyzed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which was once responsible for a fifth of global oil trade. The pace of attacks and counterattacks has slowed since April, but peace negotiations have not yet resulted in a definitive agreement.
Cost of living
Only 22% of Americans approve of the way Trump is handling the cost of living for American families, while 70% disapprove. Americans are now more dissatisfied with Trump’s performance on this issue than they were with his Democratic predecessor in office, Joe Biden, who ended his term with 29% approval and 63% disapproval regarding the cost of living.
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Biden faced years of high inflation, which ended up hurting his party in the 2024 presidential elections and contributed to Trump’s victory over Democrat Kamala Harris. Trump campaigned on promises to combat inflation, and persistently high fuel prices are hurting his party’s chances of maintaining control of Congress in November’s midterm elections.
Around 36% of Americans said they approved of the US attacks on Iran. A smaller portion — 25% — responded that they considered the benefits of the attacks to be worth the costs.
Conducted nationwide, the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that registered voters expressed a willingness to choose Democrats over Republicans, by 41% to 37%, if congressional elections were held today.
Conducted online, the survey collected responses from 4,531 North American adults and had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
