President Donald Trump’s approval rating fell to a new low this week, according to a recent polling analysis, as Americans continue to grapple with the economic fallout from the ongoing conflict with Iran.
The Economist’s polling tracker, which aggregates surveys conducted by YouGov, found Trump is 25 points below water with Americans, down 1.1 points from the previous week. The analysis found that just 35% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, while 60% disapprove and 5% are unsure. According to the tracker, Trump is now the most unpopular president at this stage of a presidency since the survey began in 2009.
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A major factor behind the decline appears to be public dissatisfaction with the war in Iran and its impact on energy prices. While gasoline prices have fallen for two consecutive weeks, Americans continue to feel the effects of higher fuel costs. The national average price for regular gasoline stood at $4.24 per gallon on Thursday, down from $4.39 a week earlier but still significantly higher than before the conflict began.
Trump has repeatedly indicated that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon outweighs concerns about rising consumer costs. Speaking to reporters in May, the president said, “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situations” when discussing negotiations with Tehran.
“I don’t think about anybody,” Trump continued. “I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”
Earlier this week, Trump defended his decision to launch strikes against Iran, saying he remained confident in the military operation despite growing political opposition.
“I’m very proud of that decision,” Trump said. “Today we hit another stock market high. We may have the highest stock market in history with a military conflict going on. Some people call it a war, some people call it a military conflict. It’s not a big thing for us. We have a great military.”
Diplomatic efforts have deteriorated in recent days amid disputes over whether Israel’s military operations against Hezbollah violate the terms of a ceasefire agreement. On Friday, U.S. Central Command said it intercepted several missiles headed toward Gulf nations and the Strait of Hormuz.
Growing concern over the conflict has also surfaced on Capitol Hill. Four House Republicans joined all House Democrats on Wednesday in voting to limit the president’s war powers earlier this week.
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The measure, which seeks to end U.S. involvement in the conflict after more than 90 days, will now head to the Senate. If approved, it would likely face a presidential veto.
“Yesterday, in a meaningless vote, the House voted, 4 bad Republicans and all of the Democrats, to limit my War Powers, right in the middle of my final negotiations to end the War with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
