Donald Trump’s approval rating fell to the lowest level of his presidency with an overwhelming majority of Americans concerned the United States’ war with Iran will last a long time, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded on Monday.
Just 33 per cent of respondents in the four-day survey said they approved of the US president’s performance in the White House, while 64 per cent disapproved.
Trump’s approval rating, down from 35 per cent in a poll that closed earlier this month and lower than at any point in his current term, has now a tie with the lowest level of his first term reached in December 2017.
After returning to the White House last year with just under half the country approving of his presidency, Trump’s popularity this year took a hit after he ordered strikes on Iran alongside US ally Israel.
The ensuing conflict has paralysed a fifth of the global oil trade, triggering a surge in the price of petrol which is weighing on US households – and on Trump’s Republican allies defending congressional majorities in November midterm elections.
[ Donald Trump says Iran should surrender, threatens to bomb Oman ]
Trump, who campaigned on promises to keep inflation in check and avoid long-lasting wars, initially pledged the conflict with Iran would take a few weeks. He has argued the war was the only way to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon that could threaten the world.
But Iran has proved resilient and has kept the oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz largely bottled up even as the conflict has cooled.
About 80 per cent of Americans – including 87 per cent of Democrats and 71 per cent of Republicans – think US involvement in Iran “will go on for an extended period of time,” the Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
Just 16 per cent said the conflict would likely end in a few weeks.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted online, gathered responses from 1,166 US adults nationwide and had a margin of error of three percentage points in either direction.