Trump Approval Stalls at 36%, Poll Finds Amid Iran Fallout

Trump’s approval rating stayed stuck at 36%, tying the lowest point of his second term and leaving him far below the 47% he held shortly after returning to office on January 20, 2025. The Reuters/Ipsos survey, completed Monday and published April 21, showed a president whose standing has not moved despite a string of high-stakes political tests.

The latest reading came as the fallout from Iran continued to weigh on the White House. In Reuters/Ipsos polling released April 13, only 24% of Americans said U.S. military action in Iran had been worth it, while 51% said it had not been worth it and 22% were unsure. Just 36% approved of the strikes themselves. Reuters has also reported that the conflict pushed gasoline prices higher, turning the war into a broader test of the administration’s handling of prices, security and public confidence at once.

What makes the approval slump more politically durable is the way it overlaps with doubts about Trump’s temperament. Only 26% of Americans described him as even-tempered. Republicans remained divided, with 53% saying he is even-tempered and 46% saying he is not, while just 7% of Democrats gave him that label. The same pattern appeared on mental sharpness: 51% of Americans said Trump’s sharpness had gotten worse over the past year, including 14% of Republicans, 54% of independents and 85% of Democrats.

That split matters because it shows the president’s problem is not confined to partisan opposition. Democrats are unsurprisingly firm in their criticism, but the numbers also show hesitation among independents and discomfort among nearly half of Republicans on questions of temperament. For a White House already facing political pressure from the Iran conflict and from persistent concerns about the cost of living, the survey suggests that conduct is becoming a standing liability rather than a fleeting controversy.

The poll surveyed 4,557 U.S. adults nationwide online and had a margin of error of 2 percentage points. In the same survey, Pope Leo XIV’s favorability among U.S. adults stood at 60%, an unusual contrast that underscored how Trump’s standing has become entangled not only in policy disputes, but in wider judgments about stability, tone and leadership.