Trump approval falls to career low of 32% as high costs bite, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump’s approval rating fell to 32 per cent - the lowest of his political career - as his fellow Republicans soured on his handling of the cost of living amid the unpopular Iran war, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

The four-day poll, which closed on Sept 20, showed 73 per cent of Republicans approved of Trump’s job performance, down from 82 per cent in a Reuters/Ipsos poll a week earlier. His overall approval stood at 35 per cent that week.

Trump returned to the White House in January 2025 on promises to tame inflation and end foreign wars. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in the hours after he was first sworn in, he enjoyed a 47 per cent approval rate.

Just 17 per cent of respondents in the new poll approved of his handling of the cost of living - the top issue Americans say will determine how they vote in the Nov 3 midterm elections, when Trump’s Republicans are defending narrow congressional majorities.

Dissatisfaction among Republicans on the subject has been growing since Trump launched the war on Iran in February that has pushed gasoline and diesel prices sharply higher. Now for the first time, Republicans who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the cost of living outnumber those who give him a thumbs up - 51 per cent to 44 per cent.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online and gathered 1,277 responses from US adults nationwide. It had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. REUTERS