President Donald Trump’s approval rating remained mired at the lowest level of his political career on Monday, with just 33% of Americans approving of the job he is doing in the White House amid deepening frustration over the war in Iran and the rising cost of living, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded August 31. It marked the third consecutive Reuters/Ipsos poll to show Trump’s approval stalled at that number, underscoring how entrenched the president’s political troubles have become just over two months before voters head to the polls for the November 3 midterm elections.
Democrats Report A Clear Enthusiasm Advantage
The poll, which surveyed 1,167 U.S. adults nationwide, found Democrats significantly more energized about the upcoming elections than their Republican counterparts. Some 46% of self-identified Democrats described themselves as “very enthusiastic” about voting in November, compared with just 31% of Republicans who said the same. Among independents, 36% said they would vote for a Democrat if the congressional elections were held today, while only 22% said they would back a Republican.
Trump’s Numbers Now Trail Biden’s Career-Low Mark
Trump’s approval has held at its current level since mid-August, a depth his standing only briefly touched early in his first presidency. It sits well below the 47% of Americans who approved of his performance at the outset of his current term. Notably, Trump’s 33% approval rating is now lower than the low point reached by his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, who bottomed out at 35% approval in October 2024.
Cost Of Living And The Iran War Drag Down His Standing
The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that, like Biden before him, Trump has been dogged by widespread discontent over high inflation. Gasoline prices have surged since Trump ordered the U.S. to begin bombing Iran in February, and just 36% of Americans said they approve of the war. The conflict has seen long lulls since it began, but the two sides have traded missile strikes in recent days, and Iran has largely blocked a major transit point for the global oil trade since the war’s outset.
More Than Seven In 10 Americans Reject His Economic Record
Some 71% of Americans, including four in 10 Republicans, said they disapprove of how Trump is handling the cost of living. For the past month, registered voters surveyed by Reuters/Ipsos have said the Democratic Party has better ideas for the economy than the Republican Party — the first time Democrats have held that advantage in roughly a decade. The four-day poll carried a margin of error of 3 percentage points in either direction.
Republican Support Has Eroded Sharply Since Last Year
Additional polling reinforces how much ground Trump has lost even within his own party. A University of Massachusetts Amherst survey of 1,000 respondents taken August 21-26 found Trump’s approval rating among Republicans has fallen from 89% to 75% since April 2025, while his approval among 2024 Trump voters is down 10 points. That same poll put Trump’s overall approval at 32%, with disapproval at 64%, and found just 25% of respondents believe he is handling the Iran war well, versus 68% who said he is not.
A 14-Point Slide Since The Start Of His Second Term
Trump’s approval rating has fallen 14 points since his second term began, when it stood at 47%, according to the same Reuters/Ipsos polling series. His disapproval rating has climbed to 65% — up 24 points from the 41% recorded at the start of his term and up 4 points from a month earlier, when it stood at 61%. As of Tuesday morning, a polling average compiled by Decision Desk HQ put Trump’s approval at 38.7% and his disapproval at 57.9%.
Support For Military Action In Iran Has Steadily Declined
An earlier Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted August 21-24 found Trump’s approval already held at 33%, unchanged from the group’s August 17 survey, while disapproval ticked up to 65%. That poll found just 31% of Americans supported U.S. military action in Iran, down from 34% earlier in the month and 37% in March. The share of Americans who believe the war will continue “for an extended period of time” rose to 83%, up from 80% earlier in August.
Trump Vowed No Rush To End The Conflict
An August 17 Reuters/Ipsos poll of 1,166 U.S. adults found 80% of Americans, including 87% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans, believed U.S. involvement in Iran would continue for an extended period. Trump said that same week he was in no hurry to end the war and threatened to widen the conflict by striking neutral Oman. That survey also found 38% of voters preferred Democrats to handle the economy, versus 35% for Republicans — the first such Democratic edge in about a decade.
Financial Times Poll Shows Sharp Drop Among Republicans
A Financial Times/Focaldata poll of 1,913 registered voters conducted August 7-10 put Trump’s approval at 35% and disapproval at 55%, and found his net approval rating among Republicans had dropped eight points in a single month. That survey found inflation had cooled slightly in July from June, though it remained at 3.4% — still higher than when Trump took office — as the Iran war continued driving up fuel costs and disrupting the broader economy. The same poll found Democrats holding a five-point advantage heading into the midterms.
Independent Polling Trackers Confirm The Slide
Nate Silver’s poll tracker recorded Trump’s net approval rating falling to -20.6% on July 30, a record low for his second term, down from -16.4% just weeks earlier on July 12. A Quinnipiac University poll released the same week put Trump’s approval at 32%, an all-time low in that pollster’s tracking, with 66% disapproving of his handling of the Iran conflict, 62% disapproving of his foreign policy and economic stewardship, and 58% disapproving of his handling of trade.
Analysts Point To Economic Fallout From The War
Geoffrey Skelley, chief elections analyst at Decision Desk HQ, said Trump’s weak polling stems largely from his handling of the economy — traditionally one of his stronger issues — compounded by the unpopularity of the Iran war. He said the war’s domestic economic impact, rather than foreign policy concerns alone, is driving voter frustration, calling the connection between the conflict and economic anxiety “a big problem” for the president heading into the midterms.
His Numbers Trail His First-Term Pace And Reagan-Era Predecessors
Trump’s approval heading into the 2026 midterms is running below where it stood at the same point in his first term, when it hovered around 40%, according to Gallup data. His approval also lags that of Reagan, Clinton and Obama at the equivalent point in each of their second years in office. A Reuters/Ipsos poll from mid-August 2018 had found Trump’s approval at 41%, meaning his current 33% mark — measured by the same pollster — sits eight points lower than eight years earlier.
CNN And CBS Polling Show Similar Patterns Of Disapproval
A CNN poll found 65% of respondents said Trump’s policies have hurt the economy, while 67% said the Iran war has hurt the United States. A CBS News/YouGov poll of 2,193 adults conducted July 21-24 put Trump’s approval at 39% and found support for U.S. military action against Iran had fallen from 44% in March to 39%, with a plurality of 37% believing the conflict would continue for months.
The Political Stakes For November
With Republicans defending slim congressional majorities, the erosion in Trump’s standing — both among independents and within his own party’s base — has become a central variable heading into the midterms. A Pew Research Center survey of 3,554 adults conducted July 6-12 found Democrats holding a six-point edge on the generic congressional ballot, with 42% of voters saying their vote for Congress would be a vote against Trump, compared with 22% who said it would be a vote for him.