Trump’s approval rating sinks to new low at 33 percent

New poll found a majority of US citizens concerned about the US war on Iran.

The approval rating of United States President Donald Trump has fallen to the lowest level of his presidency, with an overwhelming majority of Americans concerned that the US-Israel war on Iran will last a long time.

Just 33 percent of respondents approved of Trump’s job performance, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll. The approval rating is the lowest ever during this term and matches the lowest seen in December 2017 during his first term.

The poll, conducted over the course of four days, found 64 percent of Americans disapproved of how he is handling his job.

The slide in polling figures comes as an overwhelming majority of Americans are concerned by the continuing war on Iran. Consumers have seen the price of fuels rise dramatically since the war began in February, with the cost of gasoline [petrol] up nearly a third compared to a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association.

Trump, who campaigned on promises to keep inflation in check and avoid long-lasting wars, initially pledged that the conflict with Iran would take a few weeks. He 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 and gas export trade through the Strait of Hormuz largely bottled up even as the conflict has cooled.

On Friday, Trump told a rally of supporters that paying “a tiny little bit more for your gasoline” is worth the cost of ensuring “a very evil country,” meaning Iran, could not have a nuclear weapon.

Some 80 percent of Americans, including 87 percent of Democrats and 71 percent of Republicans, think US involvement in Iran “will go on for an extended period of time”, the Reuters/Ipsos poll found. Just 16 percent said the conflict would likely end in a few weeks.

A Politico poll recently showed just a third of self-identified Make America Great Again (MAGA) voters, typically the most unquestioning of Trump’s base, felt the economic costs of the war with Iran were worth it.