Trump’s approval rating falls to the lowest of his presidency, new poll finds

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Lange, J. (2026, August 18). Trump’s approval rating falls to the lowest of his presidency, new poll finds. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-approval-poll-reuters-ipsos-b3034767.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-08-18 · by Jason Lange

Quick Summary

President Donald Trump's approval rating has fallen to the lowest level of his presidency, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded on Monday, with just 33% of respondents approving of his performance in the White House and 64% disapproving. The poll found that 80% of Americans believe U.S. involvement in Iran will last for an extended period of time. Trump's handling of the conflict has also taken a hit, with only one in five Americans thinking the war has been worth it. This low approval rating comes as Republicans are nervous about defending their slim majority in the November midterm elections due to concerns about high gas prices and the ongoing conflict with Iran.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-08-18, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

President Donald Trump's approval rating has hit an all-time low, falling to 33% in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, with 64% of respondents disapproving of his performance. This is the lowest level of his presidency so far, and ties the lowest point reached during his previous term in December 2017. The poll was conducted over four days and found that Trump's popularity has been declining since he ordered airstrikes on Iran alongside Israel. This move led to a global oil trade crisis, which has caused gasoline prices to surge and weigh heavily on U.S. households and Trump's Republican allies ahead of the November midterm elections.

Written for “Trump Approval Rating Slump” on 2026-10-16, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Approval Rating Slump
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
14%
3 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-08-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 2453 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Jason Lange
3 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Ceding control of either chamber of Congress could make it far more difficult for Trump to execute his agenda in the final two years of his term.
🔮 About 76% of adults view measles, mumps, and rubella immunizations as safe for children, down from 84% in May 2020.
🔮 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.
Also by Jason Lange
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Democrats Iran Republican Republicans Reuters/Ipsos

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 9× Democrats NORP · 7× Republicans NORP · 7× Reuters/Ipsos ORG · 5× Iran GPE · 4× Republican NORP · 3× U.S. GPE · 3× Americans NORP · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× the White House ORG · 1×

Narrative

Concerns about the war and gasoline prices have Republicans nervous about their hopes of defending their slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 3 elections, and Democrats increasingly see the U.S. Senate also within their grasp.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-18
🔮 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.
2026-08-18 · The Independent
Trump’s approval rating falls to the lowest of his presidency, new poll finds · assertive framing

Claims (21 extracted, 3 hedged)

President Donald Trump's approval rating has fallen to the lowest level of his presidency, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded on Monday. uncertain
that → fall → Monday
Just 33 percent of respondents in the four-day survey, down from 35 percent, said they approved of Trump's performance in the White House, while 64 per cent disapproved. asserted
cent → say → House
Trump's approval rating, which is now lower than at any point in his current term, has tied the lowest level of his prior term reached in December 2017. asserted
which → tie → December
Just under half the country approved of his presidency when he returned to the White House in 2015, but Trump's popularity took a hit after he ordered strikes on Iran alongside Israel. asserted
he → approve → Israel
The ensuing conflict paralyzed a fifth of the global oil trade, triggering a surge in the price of gasoline that is weighing on U.S. households - and on Trump's Republican allies defending congressional majorities in November midterm elections. asserted
that → ensue → elections
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. asserted
conflict → campaign → weeks
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. asserted
conflict → prove → Hormuz
Some 80 percent of Americans - including 87 percent of Democrats and 71 percent of Republicans - think U.S. involvement in Iran "will go on for an extended period of time," the Reuters/Ipsos poll found. asserted
poll → include → time
Just 16 percent said the conflict would likely end in a few weeks. asserted
conflict → say → weeks
Trump justifies high gas prices Trump told a political rally in Garden City, New York, on Friday that paying "a tiny little bit more for your gasoline" is worth the cost of ensuring "a very evil country" could not have a nuclear weapon, one of his stated rationales for the war. uncertain
country → justify → war
Throughout the conflict, the president has alternated between threats of escalation and assertions that a peace deal is imminent. asserted
deal → alternate → escalation
Only one in five Americans - and just half of Republicans - think the war has been worth it, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll found. asserted
poll → think → Republicans
Concerns about the war and gasoline prices have Republicans nervous about their hopes of defending their slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 3 elections, and Democrats increasingly see the U.S. Senate also within their grasp. asserted
Senate → have → grasp
Reuters/Ipsos polling this month has shown voters prefer Democrats over Republicans as better stewards of the economy for the first time in about a decade. asserted
voters → show → decade
The latest poll showed 38 percent of voters think Democrats will handle the economy better, compared to 35 percent who prefer the Republican approach. asserted
who → show → approach
Democrats are also seen as better equipped to manage the cost of living. asserted
Democrats → see → living
The Republican approach to immigration has remained more popular than that of Democrats throughout Trump's term, with a sharp fall in border crossings and sustained nationwide crackdown ordered by Trump. asserted
approach → remain → Trump
But Republicans are losing ground amid deadly confrontations and a surge in detainees, including children. asserted
Republicans → lose → children
Some 40 percent of registered voters said Republicans have the better approach on immigration policy, compared to 38 percent who pick Democrats, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll. uncertain
who → register → poll
Republicans led by 26 points in January 2025. asserted
Republicans → lead → January
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted online, gathered responses from 1,166 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points in either direction. asserted
which → conduct → direction
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