President Donald Trump's disapproval rating has hit its highest mark ever amid the Iran war and rising grocery and gas prices, which remain stubbornly high, according to a polling group.
The slew of recent unfavorable polls has seen Trump's average job disapproval rating jump to 58.3 percent—higher than it was after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in 2021, according to RealClearPolitics, which looked at the averages of recent polls to reach the new low point.
"Trump's disapproval rating today (58.3%) is higher than its highest point in his first term (57.9%), which occurred after January 6, 2021," the site's co-founder and president Tom Bevan said.
RealClearPolitics also looked at Trump's average favorability rating, a different metric from job approval, and found that 55.9 percent view him unfavorably. In the aftermath of Jan. 6, Trump's unfavorability rating reached 59.5 percent. Poll averages analysed by the site included a range of publications, from The Wall Street Journal, Fox News and the Daily Mail to Reuters/Ipsos, CBS News, and The New York Times.
It comes on the heels of another damning poll that found 76 percent of Americans believe the economy is getting worse, according to new Gallup research, signaling that voters are focusing on affordability ahead of the midterm elections in November.
Despite campaigning on a platform to ease the financial burden on Americans during the 2024 presidential election, Trump recently brushed off their economic plight. "I don't think about American financial situation — I don't think about anybody," the president told reporters at the White House earlier this month. "I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon."
Trump claimed Monday that progress had been made on a draft agreement with Iran, but that he would only accept a "great deal for all or no deal at all."
In the months following the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran in late February, gas prices have gone up by more than 50 percent because of political tensions and slowed oil shipping. Gas prices in every state averaged at least $4 for the first time in four years, motor club AAA.com revealed Wednesday. Grocery prices continue to surge – beef and tomatoes rose 14.8 percent and 15 percent, respectively, in April.
Inflation reached its highest point in three years in April, while White House officials are reportedly "totally freaked" that the ongoing war with Iran could push gas prices beyond the $5.02 a gallon record set under the Biden administration.
The White House disputed the report as "fake news," and separately dismissed unfavorable polling by asserting the Iran war was launched "in the interest of the American people."
"While the President has been clear about short-term disruptions as a result of Operation Epic Fury, the Administration is focused on implementing the proven Trump agenda of tax cuts, deregulation, and energy abundance to keep America on a solid economic trajectory," White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said in a previous statement. "The President does not make these incredibly important national security decisions based on fluid opinion polls, but on the best interest of the American people."
