President Trump’s approval rating rose by one percentage point in a recent national survey to 36% as the level of public dissatisfaction over the cost of living eased slightly, according to a four-day online poll that concluded on Monday. The survey collected responses both before and after a Sunday announcement that Trump and Iranian leaders had reached an agreement to end a conflict that had previously driven gasoline prices up sharply.
Optimism tied to the brief peace talks has coincided with a decline in gasoline prices in recent weeks, though the public continues to face elevated pump costs. Americans are still paying roughly one dollar more per gallon at the pump than they did before the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, the poll data show.
When asked specifically about his performance on the cost of living, 24% of respondents said they approved of the president’s stewardship, up from 22% a week earlier and 20% a month ago. The share of respondents who disapproved of his handling of that issue decreased to 69% from 73% a month earlier.
Observers will watch whether this modest movement in approval marks a durable turn for the president. His standing has eroded even among constituencies that have been core to his political support, including rural voters and evangelical Christians. Overall, his approval remains near some of the lowest points of his political career, and the public continues to judge his handling of the cost of living more harshly than they judged his Democratic predecessor.
The online poll gathered responses from 1,537 adults across the United States and reported a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The data indicate that Mr. Trump began his second term in January 2025 with a 47% approval rating - 11 points higher than the current reading - after winning the previous year’s presidential election on a pledge to bring down persistently high inflation.
That objective has not been realized, according to a recent U.S. inflation report cited in the poll’s context, and sustained dissatisfaction over rising prices could present political headwinds for Republican lawmakers defending narrow congressional majorities in the November 3 midterm elections.
On voting preferences for congressional contests if they were held today, 41% of registered voters in the poll said they would back a Democratic candidate in their district, while 38% said they would vote for a Republican. Another 18% said they were unsure or considering a third-party option. Independent voters showed a notable tilt toward Democrats, favoring them 35% to 22% over Republicans - a 13-point gap that could be decisive in competitive races.
Methodology note: The survey was administered online over a four-day period and included 1,537 U.S. adults with a reported margin of sampling error of 3 percentage points in either direction.