By Jason Lange
WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s approval rating fell to 32% – the lowest of his political career – as his fellow Republicans soured on his handling of the cost of living amid the unpopular Iran war, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The four-day poll, which closed on Sunday, showed 73% of Republicans approved of Trump’s job performance, down from 82% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll a week earlier. His overall approval stood at 35% that week.
Trump returned to the White House in January 2025 on promises to tame inflation and end foreign wars. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in the hours after he was sworn in, he enjoyed a 47% approval rating.
Just 17% of respondents in the new poll approved of his handling of the cost of living – the top issue Americans say will determine how they vote in the November 3 midterm elections, when Trump’s Republicans are defending narrow congressional majorities.
IRAN TAKES A TOLL
Dissatisfaction among Republicans on the subject has been growing since Trump launched the war on Iran in February that has pushed gasoline and diesel prices sharply higher. Now for the first time, Republicans who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the cost of living outnumber those who give him a thumbs up – 51% to 44%.
Trump’s approval rating is lower than any recorded for his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, whose presidency was also marked by surging inflation and who ultimately ended his reelection bid after a poor debate performance heightened concerns about his age.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll showed registered voters in the poll picked Democrats over Republicans – 43% to 35% – when asked how they would vote in the midterms. The 8-point gap was the biggest lead for Democrats in Reuters/Ipsos polling this year. For Republicans, losing control of either chamber could complicate Trump’s agenda in the last two years of his term.
The poll results on congressional voting plans provide an overall view of which party Americans nationwide want to see in charge in Congress, though the results don’t capture all the nuances of the state-by-state and district-by-district contests that determine control of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Trump remains popular among Republicans on the issue of immigration – with 79% of his party backing him – but only 36% of Americans overall support his approach to the matter and 55% disapprove. Some Republican allies in Congress have warned that his aggressive campaign to deport people in the country illegally risks alienating voters with family who recently immigrated to America, like some Hispanics.
Just 24% of Americans back his approach to the conflict with Iran.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online and gathered 1,277 responses from US adults nationwide. It had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
(Reporting by Jason Lange in Washington; editing by Scott Malone and Deepa Babington)
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