President Donald Trump’s job approval rating has sunk to a new low as Americans express growing concerns about rising costs and the war with Iran, according to an NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey.
Overall, 37% of adults approve of Trump’s performance as president, while 63% disapprove — including 50% who said they disapprove strongly — putting his job rating at the lowest point of his second term in NBC News Decision Desk polling. Two-thirds of respondents also disapproved of Trump’s handling of inflation and the Iran conflict.
While the president still commands the overwhelming support of his base, Republican support softened compared to the last Decision Desk poll conducted in late January and early February. In the new poll, 83% of Republicans gave Trump a positive approval rating, down 4 points from earlier this year. And the share of Republicans who strongly approve of Trump’s job performance has dropped 6 points, from 58% to 52%.
And broadly, one-third of Americans believe the country is on the right track while two-thirds believe it is on the wrong track — the most pessimistic outlook in Decision Desk polling since Trump retook office last year.
The poll results underscore the challenges Republicans face as they defend their majorities in Congress in this year’s midterm elections. Americans’ frustrations with the economy and the Iran war also come after Trump promised to tackle inflation and keep the United States out of foreign entanglements during his 2024 presidential campaign.
Pocketbook issues on Americans' minds
The economy continues to be the top issue for Americans, with 29% saying it’s the issue that matters most to them right now, while 24% said threats to democracy, 12% said health care and 10% said crime and safety.
And when asked which economic issue matters most to them right now, inflation and the rising cost of living was the runaway winner — 45% chose that option, markedly higher than any other.
Just 32% of Americans said they approve of Trump’s handling of inflation and the cost of living, compared to 68% who disapprove. A majority of Americans (52%) said they strongly disapprove of Trump’s handling of the issue, while another 16% said they somewhat disapprove.
The share of Americans who strongly disapprove is up 7 points since last summer, the last time the Decision Desk survey asked the question. And the percentage of Republicans who said they approve of Trump’s handling of inflation, 73%, is 10 points lower than it was in that poll.
More Americans said their personal financial situation is worse today than it was a year ago (40%) and fewer said their economic situation is better (19%) than in any previous Decision Desk poll during Trump’s second term.
Republicans are twice as likely as independents and three times as likely as Democrats to say their personal economic situation is better today. Thirty-four percent of Republicans feel that way, compared to 48% who say their economic situation is about the same as last year and just 18% who say it’s worse.
Meanwhile, 55% of Democrats and 46% of independents feel their economic situation is worse today than it was last year.
And almost two-thirds of Americans said gas prices have been a problem for them and their family. Twenty-nine percent call it a serious problem and 36% call it a somewhat serious problem, while 29% said it’s not too serious a problem and 9% said it’s not a problem at all. Blue-collar workers and Americans with lower levels of education are more likely than white-collar workers and those with college or postgraduate degrees to call rising gas prices a problem.
Opposition to Iran war
The latest poll also finds that two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the war with Iran, with one-third approving.
Americans’ views of how Trump has navigated the war did not significantly shift after he announced a temporary ceasefire on April 7, while the poll was still in the field, with roughly one-third of Americans approving of his handling of the war in the days following that announcement.
Almost all Democrats and 82% of independents disapproved of Trump’s handling of the war, while 74% of Republicans approved. But the share of Republicans who disapproved of Trump’s handling of the war (26%) was higher than the share of Republicans who disapproved of Trump’s job overall (17%).
Even as some MAGA influencers have voiced concerns about the war, the poll finds that the president’s most ardent supporters are still behind him: 13% of self-described supporters of the MAGA movement said they disapprove of Trump’s handling of the war, while 87% approve.
A sizable majority (61%) of adults said the U.S. should not take any further military action in Iran, while 23% said the U.S. should consider all options, including the use of ground forces, and 16% said military operations should continue, but only with airstrikes.
An even higher percentage of Americans under the age of 30 want the war to end, with 74% saying the U.S. should not take any further military action in Iran.
Some positives for Trump on immigration, voter ID
Trump saw a dramatic decline in his approval rating on immigration, another major plank of his 2024 campaign, earlier this year after federal immigration officials shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minnesota.
The Trump administration has tried to telegraph a shift in tactics since then, firing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and removing Border Patrol commander at large Gregory Bovino from his post. Since February, there have been declines in both the number of people in ICE detention and ICE arrests. But more than 60,000 people still remain in custody, almost twice as many as before Trump’s return to office, according to ICE data.
The new poll suggests there’s been some improvement for Trump on the issue, even if he’s still underwater. Overall, 44% of Americans approve of his handling of border security and immigration, a 4-point bump since late January and early February, while 56% said they disapprove.
The share of adults who said they “strongly disapprove” of the president on immigration is 42%, down from 49% at the beginning of the year.
Trump is also making a push to overhaul the nation’s voting laws central to his second term, urging congressional Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, which would create new photo ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements to vote. The House has approved the measure, but it doesn’t have the support to advance in the Senate.
Three-quarters of Americans said they support requiring voters to show government-issued photo ID in order to vote. Of those who support that requirement, 61% said they think those documents should include proof of citizenship, while 39% support requiring documents that only prove identity but not citizenship.
The NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey surveyed 32,433 adults online from March 30-April 13 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points. Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
