WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to the lowest level of his current presidency as growing numbers of Americans fear that the war involving the United States and Israel against Iran could drag on for an extended period. According to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, only 33 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, while 64 percent disapprove, marking the lowest approval rating of his second term and matching the low recorded in December 2017 during his first presidency. The poll comes as the conflict fuels mounting economic concerns among Americans, particularly over energy and household costs. Gasoline prices have risen sharply since the war began, with the American Automobile Association reporting that prices are nearly one-third higher than a year ago. Trump campaigned on promises to contain inflation and avoid prolonged foreign wars, and he initially suggested that the conflict with Iran could be brought to an end within weeks. But as the fighting has continued, that expectation has increasingly come under pressure. Trump has argued that military action is necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and, speaking at a rally on Friday, said that paying “a tiny little bit more” for gasoline was a price worth paying to prevent Iran from obtaining such a capability. Yet the latest polling indicates that a large majority of Americans are no longer confident that the conflict will end quickly. About 80 percent of respondents—including 87 percent of Democrats and 71 percent of Republicans—said they believe US involvement in Iran will continue for an extended period, while only 16 percent expected the conflict to end within a few weeks. The findings represent a significant political and economic challenge for the Trump administration, as the prolonged conflict places renewed pressure on fuel prices, global supply chains, security around the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz and US military spending. Another recent poll also found that only about one-third of self-identified Make America Great Again, or MAGA, voters—the core of Trump’s political base—believed the economic costs of the war with Iran were worth paying. The combination of declining approval, rising economic concerns and growing public expectations of a prolonged conflict could therefore intensify pressure on the White House to reassess its Iran strategy. For Trump, who entered office promising to protect Americans from inflation and avoid long-running wars, the widening gap between those promises and the realities of the Iran conflict is emerging as a major political test. The central question now is whether mounting war fatigue among the American public will ultimately force Washington to reconsider the scope and duration of its military engagement with Iran.
Trump’s popularity plummets amid war, 64 percent of Americans displeased
