President Donald Trump is experiencing a notable decline in his approval ratings, reaching a new low attributed largely to public dissatisfaction with his handling of the Iran conflict and economic issues such as the cost of living.
According to recent findings from a Daily Mail/JL Partners poll, President Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 42 percent. This marks a drop from the 44 percent approval recorded on March 3, shortly after the escalation in Iran. Just a few weeks prior, in late January, his approval was at 48 percent.
The President’s actions in the Middle East seem to be a significant factor in this decline. The poll reveals that 28 percent of respondents now cite the war as the main reason for their disapproval of Trump’s job performance, a noticeable increase from the 20 percent who felt similarly at the beginning of March.
Trump’s performance in the Middle East is partially driving the disappointment.
Twenty-eight percent of respondents cited the war as the top reason they disapprove of the job the President is doing. This is up from the 20 percent who selected the Middle East in early March.
The President continued to cheer on the Iran war on Friday, telling guests at the White House, ‘We’re doing extremely well in Iran.’
An even larger section of the population, 44 percent, said they disapproved of Trump due to inflation – up from 38 percent at the start of March.
The Iran war has already created pain at the pump for Americans, with gas prices up to $3.90 a gallon nationally, compared to the $2.90 a gallon Americans were paying before US strikes started on February 28.
President Donald Trump’s approval rating has taken a hit amid the Iran war, with 42 percent of registered voters saying they approve of the job that he is doing in the latest poll from the Daily Mail and JL Partners
A staggering 54 percent said they’d blame Trump if gas prices rose as a result of the conflict, with only 20 percent pointing a finger at Iran.
Among Trump’s voters, 27 percent would blame Trump, while 38 percent answered Iran.
There’s also very little appetite for gas price hikes to guarantee a military victory.
Only 19 percent said they’d tolerate gas prices increasing by $1, with 12 percent saying they’d be OK with gas prices rising $2 to win the war in Iran.
In 2024, Trump ran on curbing inflation and improving President Joe Biden’s post-COVID economy, as well as keeping the US out of ‘forever’ wars.
Now, economic sentiment is at its worst since the inauguration, with 54 percent of registered voters saying they believe the economy is worsening, up from 44 percent last month.
Just 16 percent believe the economy is improving – a 14 percent drop from last month.
The war has also grown increasingly unpopular.
President Donald Trump attended a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday as the remains of six more US troops killed in the Iran war made it back from the Middle East
An explosion is seen over Saudi Arabia’s capital city of Riyadh, as Iran has taken to attacking Gulf nations in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes
Just days into the conflict, 40 percent of registered voters supported the military action, while 39 percent opposed.
Now 33 percent support the Iran war, while nearly half – 49 percent – oppose.
The President can still count on his base, but by a reduced margin.
In the Daily Mail’s March 3 survey, 75 percent of Trump voters supported the war, while 10 percent were against.
Two weeks later, 61 percent of Trump voters support the Iran war, with 22 percent against.
Thirteen US troops have been killed in the war, while more than 200 have been left injured.
Voters had little tolerance for a high-casualty conflict.
Only 13 percent said up to 100 American fatalities would be acceptable.
Vice President JD Vance spoke to troops based at Fort Campbell in Kentucky in November. Vance’s approval rating hasn’t taken a hit since the advent of the Iran war, and he’s now more popular than President Donald Trump
An explosion erupts from a building following an Israeli strike in central Beirut, Lebanon, on Wednesday, March 18
When the 1,000 fatalities were floated, just 9 percent said that would be acceptable, with only 7 percent expressing that they’d be OK with up to 10,000 deaths.
Not surprisingly, Democrats have become more opposed to the war, with current numbers standing at 76 percent against and just 11 percent in support.
And independents, who Republicans will need if they hope to survive the midterm elections, oppose the war two-to-one – 50 percent to 24 percent.
Around a third of voters, 36 percent, articulated that striking Iran was the right thing to do, while 48 percent argued it was the wrong thing to do. Another 15 percent of registered voters said they were unsure.
One in four Trump voters now think striking Iran was the wrong thing to do.
A glimmer of good news comes for Vice President JD Vance, whose approval rating remained stable at 47 percent – and is now five points higher than Trump’s.
Pollsters surveyed 1,037 registered voters online from March 18 to 20, giving the poll a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.
