Trump approval rating falls to 33%, lowest of his presidency, poll finds
US President Donald Trump’s approval rating fell to the lowest level of his presidency with an overwhelming majority of Americans concerned the US war with Iran will last a long time, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded on Monday.
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 first term reached in December 2017.
After returning to the White House last year 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 US ally Israel.
The ensuing conflict paralysed a fifth of the global oil trade, triggering a surge in the price of petrol which is weighing on US households – and on Trump’s Republican allies defending 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, and argued the war was the only way to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon that could threaten the world.