• Only one in five Americans, half of Republicans say conflict worth it
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
President Donald Trump’s approval rating fell to the lowest level of his presidency, with an overwhelming majority of Americans concerned the U.S. war with Iran will last a long time, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded yesterday.
Just 33 per cent of respondents in the four-day survey said they approved of Trump’s performance in the White House, while 64 per cent disapproved.
Trump’s approval rating, down from 35 per cent in a poll that closed earlier this month and lower than at any point in his current term, has now tied the lowest level of his prior term reached in December 2017, a Reuters report stated.
After returning to the White House in 2025 with just under half the country approving of his presidency, Trump’s popularity this year took a hit after he ordered strikes on Iran alongside U.S. ally Israel.
The ensuing conflict paralysed a fifth of the global oil trade, triggering a surge in the price of petrol that is weighing on the world and U.S. households, as Trump’s Republican allies defend congressional majorities in November midterm elections.
Trump, who campaigned on promises to keep inflation in check and avoid long-lasting wars, initially pledged the conflict with Iran would take a few weeks. But Iran has proved resilient and has kept the oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz largely bottled up even as the conflict has cooled.
According to the Reuters report, some 80 per cent of Americans, including 87 per cent of Democrats and 71 per cent of Republicans think U.S. involvement in Iran “will go on for an extended period of time.” Just 16 per cent said the conflict would likely end in a few weeks.
Trump told a political rally in Garden City, New York, on Friday that paying “a tiny little bit more for your gasoline (petrol)” is worth the cost of ensuring “a very evil country” could not have a nuclear weapon, one of his stated rationales for the war.
Throughout the conflict, the president has alternated between threats of escalation and assertions that a peace deal is imminent. Only one in five Americans – and just half of Republicans – think the war has been worth it, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
Concerns about the war and petrol prices have Republicans nervous about their hopes of defending their slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 3 elections, and Democrats increasingly see the U.S Senate also within their grasp.
The Reuters/Ipsos polling this month has shown voters prefer Democrats over Republicans as better stewards of the economy for the first time in about a decade. The latest poll showed 38 per cent of voters think Democrats will handle the economy better, compared to 35 per cent who prefer the Republican approach. Democrats are also seen as better equipped to manage the cost of living.
However, the Republican approach to immigration has remained more popular than that of Democrats throughout Trump’s term, with a sharp fall in border crossings and sustained nationwide crackdown ordered by Trump. But Republicans are losing ground amid deadly confrontations and a surge in detainees, including children.
Besides, some 40 per cent of registered voters said Republicans have the better approach on immigration policy, compared to 38 per cent who pick Democrats, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll. That 2 percentage point spread is the lowest of Trump’s term. Republicans led by 26 points in January 2025.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted online, gathered responses from 1,166 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points in either direction, the Reuters report stated.