Trump approval at 33 percent, lowest of term, as Iran conflict drags

A new Reuters Ipsos poll shows President Donald Trumps approval rating has dropped to 33 percent the lowest point of his presidency and matching the bottom of his first term. The four day survey ending Monday found 64 percent of Americans disapprove of his performance. The decline follows American strikes on Iran carried out alongside Israel that have disrupted global oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz and pushed gasoline prices higher for US drivers.

Trump entered office with approval near 50 percent on promises to avoid new wars and hold down costs for working families. The conflict has instead dragged on far longer than the few weeks initially projected. Eighty percent of respondents including majorities of both parties now expect US involvement to last an extended period. Only 16 percent believe it will wrap up soon. The resulting oil squeeze has hit household budgets at a time when voters already feel squeezed by inflation.

Trump addressed the issue at a rally in Garden City New York telling supporters that paying a tiny little bit more for gasoline was worth securing American interests. Many voters appear unconvinced. The economic pain has also complicated efforts by Republican candidates to hold congressional majorities in the November midterms.

Separate polling from Economist YouGov placed Trump at the same 33 percent approval level. University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato told former CNN anchor Jim Acosta that historians would rank Trump last among all presidents a prediction Acosta called unsurprising. Sabato compared Trump unfavorably to past leaders including Warren Harding and Richard Nixon arguing the current term stands out for its scale of problems.

Public reaction in the Reuters Ipsos data points more directly to the costs of the Iran operation than to long term historical judgments. Large numbers across party lines see the conflict extending without clear end and resent the higher fuel prices that followed. Trump had campaigned on keeping America out of such quagmires yet the strikes produced exactly the kind of prolonged entanglement voters said they wanted to avoid.

The poll numbers reflect that disconnect. With gas prices elevated and the Strait of Hormuz still constrained the administration faces continued pressure from households feeling the effects in real time. Republicans defending seats this fall will have to explain why a president elected to end foreign distractions instead delivered another open ended commitment in the Middle East.