President Donald Trump’s approval rating fell in recent days to its lowest point since he returned to the White House, hit by a surge in fuel prices and widespread disapproval of the war he launched on Iran, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

The four-day poll, which closed on Monday, showed 36 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, down from 40 percent in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week.

Americans’ views on Trump soured significantly with regard to his stewardship over the cost of living, as gasoline prices have surged since the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran on February 28.

Just 25 percent of respondents approved of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, an issue that was at the centre of his 2024 presidential election campaign.

Trump’s standing within his Republican Party remains mostly strong. Only about one in five Republicans said they disapprove of his overall performance in the White House, little changed from about one in seven last week. But the share of Republicans who disapprove of his handling of the cost of living rose to 34 percent from 27 percent last week.

Trump’s approval rating was 47 percent in the first days of his presidency and since last summer had largely held around 40 percent .

War concerns weigh

The war in Iran could be changing that for a president who took office promising to avoid “stupid wars.” The survey found 35 percent of Americans approve of the US strikes on Iran, down from 37 percent in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week. Some 61 percent disapproved of the strikes, compared to 59 percent last week.

Earlier Reuters/Ipsos surveys were conducted in the immediate aftermath of the first US and Israeli strikes, when many Americans were still learning about the situation, and respondents were given the option of saying they were unsure of their views.

A February 28 March 1 Reuters/Ipsos poll found 27 percent approved of the strikes, 43 percent disapproved and 29 percent were unsure.

The most recent surveys don’t give the option of being unsure, though 5 percent of respondents to the latest poll declined to answer the question on their view of the war.

There was little sign that Trump’s declining popularity was also dragging down his Republican allies seeking to keep control of Congress in the November midterm elections. Some 38 percent of registered voters in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said Republicans were the better stewards of the US economy, compared to 34 percent who picked Democrats on the issue.

The poll, which was conducted online and nationwide, gathered responses from 1,272 US adults and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. 

Source: Reuters

--Agencies