President Donald Trump's approval rating has fallen to the lowest level of his current term, driven by growing public dissatisfaction with his handling of the cost of living and an unpopular war with Iran, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Approval Drops to 34%
The four-day poll, completed on Monday, found that only 34% of Americans approve of Trump's performance in the White House, down from 36% in a previous Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted from April 15 to 20. The majority of responses were collected before a shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday night, where Trump was scheduled to speak. It remains unclear whether that incident, in which a gunman was stopped before entering a hall where Trump was dining, might affect public opinion. Federal prosecutors have charged the accused shooter with attempting to assassinate the president.
Trump's standing with the American public has trended lower since he took office in January 2025, when 47% of Americans approved of his performance. His popularity has suffered significantly since the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28, which led to a surge in gasoline prices. Only 22% of poll respondents approved of Trump's handling of the cost of living, down from 25% in the prior survey.
Surging Gas Prices Weigh on Voters
U.S. gasoline prices have jumped more than 40% to roughly $4.18 per gallon since the surprise attacks on Iran, which triggered a response that shut down a fifth of the global oil trade. These price increases are putting heavy pressure on American households and fueling concerns among Trump's Republicans that they could lose control of Congress in the November midterm elections.
While a solid majority of Republicans—78%—still support Trump, 41% of the party disapprove of his handling of the cost of living, the poll found. Independent registered voters, a group that could be decisive in the midterms, favored Democrats by 14 points, 34% to 20%, when asked which party they would support in congressional elections. One in four said they were still undecided.
Trump won the 2024 presidential election on promises to bring down prices after several years of high inflation under his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden. Now, his approval rating on the economy stands at 27%, well below any reading during his 2017-2021 administration and also lower than Biden's weakest economy rating.
Although the U.S. conflict with Iran has cooled since a ceasefire earlier this month, Iran's threats continue to prevent most oil shipments from leaving the Persian Gulf, fueling further increases in energy prices as oil reserves decline. Just 34% of Americans approve of the U.S. conflict with Iran, down from 36% in mid-April and 38% in mid-March, according to the poll.
During Trump's first term, his popularity hovered around 40% for long stretches. The latest reading remains slightly above the low point of his first term, which was 33%. The Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted nationwide online, gathered responses from 1,269 U.S. adults, including 1,014 registered voters, and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
