President Donald Trump’s approval rating has sunk to the worst net standing of any second-term president at this point in office — below Richard Nixon’s during Watergate — as surging gas prices and the month-old Iran War drive voters away from the White House.
CNN‘s poll (SSRS, March 26–30, n=1,201, MOE ±3.2 points) puts overall approval at 35% — one point above his all-time CNN low. His rating on the economy fell to a career low of 31%, and just 27% approve of his inflation management, down from 44% a year ago. About two-thirds say his policies have worsened US economic conditions, up 10 points since January. Among Republicans under 45, economic approval has dropped 23 points since January.
A UMass Amherst poll placed overall approval lower still at 33% — down from 38% last July and 44% last April — with just 29% backing his handling of the Iran strikes.
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CNN analyst Harry Enten put the damage in historical terms on X, writing that Trump’s net approval has hit a term-2 low of -18 points — “the worst for any president at this point in term 2. Worse than Nixon (-36 pts) at the height of Watergate.” Independents account for much of the gap, with Trump at -45 among that group.
On kitchen-table issues, Trump now stands in historically poor company. Enten noted that 72% disapprove of his inflation handling — worse than Carter (66%) and Biden (68%) at comparable stages — and 76% disapprove on gas prices, already past Biden’s worst of 72%. Since Operation Epic Fury launched on February 28, pump prices have climbed from $2.46 to more than $4 per gallon.
Trump addressed the nation Wednesday night in his first formal speech on the war, declaring US goals were “nearing completion” while projecting two to three more weeks of strikes.
Markets moved against him: S&P 500 futures fell 0.75%, Nasdaq dropped 1%, and oil surged from $98 to nearly $104 per barrel.
The speech came hours after Trump claimed Iran had sought a ceasefire — a claim Tehran denied — and as he told Britain’s Telegraph he is weighing a US withdrawal from NATO as more allies refuse to get dragged into the war.
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