Trump's approval falls to record low of 31% before US midterms

US President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to a record low as Americans worry about high fuel prices and appear ready to punish his Republican Party in the November 3 congressional elections, a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday found.

Just 31 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s performance in office, down a point from two weeks earlier and the lowest level in either of his terms, Geo News reported, citing Reuters.

What the poll found

• Generic ballot: 47 percent of registered voters would back Democrats and 35 percent Republicans, a 12-point gap that is the widest of this election cycle; two weeks ago it was 44 to 37
• Women: 50 percent of female voters said they would vote Democratic, against 32 percent for Republicans; men also favoured Democrats, by a smaller margin
• The economy: 68 percent disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, including 37 percent of self-identified Republicans
• Trust on the economy: voters picked Democrats over Republicans as better stewards of the economy by 40 to 33 percent

Trump’s popularity has suffered since he ordered military strikes on Iran in February alongside Israel. The war sent gasoline prices soaring and hit household finances.

The online poll surveyed 1,679 US adults, including 1,279 registered voters, with a margin of error of 3 points for registered voters. National polls do not capture the state-by-state and district contests that decide control of Congress, in which Republicans hold some structural advantages.

“Burn” like France

Campaigning in Kansas on Monday for Republican Senator Roger Marshall, Trump used the violent unrest in France as an argument against Democrats, The Express Tribune reported. He provided no evidence.

“When you see burning steeples and raging fires in France, just remember that is what the radical Dumocrats want to do to America,” Trump said, using his mocking name for Democrats. He also turned to anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric. Rights groups have long criticised such language, saying it normalises discrimination against those communities.

Marshall also built his pitch on cultural issues such as stopping “radical Islam”.

Kansas, which Trump won by 16 points in 2024, has not elected a Democrat to the Senate in 94 years. But Marshall faces a close fight with Democrat Adam Hamilton, a Methodist megachurch pastor running against Trump’s tariffs and what he calls the president’s “erratic leadership”.

“Nothing said at the rally can distract from the fact Kansans are being crushed by rising gas and diesel prices,” Hamilton’s spokesperson Tyson Brody said.

Prices on voters’ minds

Near the rally in Park City, a truck stop sign showed gas at $3.98 and diesel at $5.78, about 45 percent above last year’s average gas price in Kansas, according to the AAA motoring club.

“Being on disability, I don’t have much, but it seems like the prices are still going up and they need to come down,” said Monique Mullen, 59, a Republican voter.

Democrats need a net gain of four seats in both the House and the Senate to overturn Republican majorities of 218-214 and 53-47.

Why it matters

The Iran war has become a cost-of-living problem for American voters. If Democrats take Congress, Trump’s last two years in office, and his approach to the Middle East, could face far stronger checks. Read our reports on France’s crisis and on Trump’s Russia sanctions decision.

This article draws on reporting by Geo News, The Express Tribune and Reuters.