Trump approval hits new low as Americans sour on economy, Iran war

Donald Trump’s approval has sunk to a second-term low as anger over prices and the Iran war converges into a broader judgment on his presidency. In NBC News Decision Desk polling released April 19, 37% of adults approved of Trump’s job performance, while 63% disapproved, including 50% who strongly disapproved.

The numbers point to more than a bad week. Two-thirds of respondents said they disapproved of Trump’s handling of inflation and the Iran conflict, and just 32% approved of the way he was handling inflation and the cost of living. The economy remained the dominant backdrop to the slide: 29% named it as the top issue, and 45% said inflation and the rising cost of living were the country’s most important economic problem. One-third said the country was on the right track, while two-thirds said it was on the wrong track, the bleakest reading in NBC’s polling since Trump returned to office.

Republican support has also softened. NBC found Trump’s approval among Republicans at 83%, down from 87% in the prior poll, with the share who strongly approve falling from 58% to 52%. That erosion matters because it suggests the Iran fight is no longer just a partisan rallying point. Even among Trump’s own voters, the war is starting to collide with doubts about whether he is focused on the issues that elected him.

A POLITICO poll on April 17 showed how far that skepticism has spread. Seven weeks into the war, only 38% backed military action against Iran, 41% said Trump did not have a plan to resolve it, and just 15% said he had achieved his goals. Nearly half said he had spent too much time on international affairs rather than domestic issues, including 29% of his 2024 voters. That is the political danger for Trump: the conflict is starting to read less like a show of force than a test of competence.

Earlier polling showed the same pattern forming. NBC’s March 4 survey found 54% of registered voters disapproved of Trump’s handling of Iran, and 52% said the United States should not have taken military action. Reuters/Ipsos later put his approval at 36%, another second-term low, as fuel prices surged. Quinnipiac’s April 15 poll found most voters blamed Trump for the recent rise in gas prices.

For Trump, the warning is clear. Public patience with escalation is thin, economic anxiety is still dominant, and the war with Iran is increasingly being judged through the same lens voters use for inflation, prices and presidential competence.