WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s approval rating held at the lowest of his term in recent days as many Americans questioned his temperament amid the Iran war and a feud with Pope Leo, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The six-day public opinion poll, concluded on April 20, showed only 36 per cent of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, unchanged from a month earlier. Mr Trump enjoyed the highest approval rating of his current term, 47 per cent, shortly after he was sworn in to office on Jan 20, 2025.
He has been under pressure since his administration and Israel launched a war against Iran in February that has pushed gasoline prices sharply higher.
Some 36 per cent of Americans approve of US military strikes against Iran, compared with 35 per cent in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted April 10-12. The latest poll of 4,557 US adults nationwide, conducted online, had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
The poll showed many Americans, including some members of Mr Trump’s Republican Party, have some concerns about the 79-year-old president’s temperament and mental sharpness following a series of explosive outbursts.
Only 26 per cent of Americans said they consider Mr Trump “even-tempered”. Republicans were divided on this question, with 53 per cent considering him to be so and 46 per cent saying he is not, while a handful declined to answer the question. Only 7 per cent of Democrats saw Mr Trump as even-tempered.
Mr Trump has exhibited agitation in recent weeks, posting a threat on social media to wipe out Iran’s civilization while also attacking Pope Leo as weak on crime following the pontiff’s criticism of the Iran war. Mr Trump has threatened – even profanely – to destroy all of Iran’s bridges and power plants.
He alarmed allies earlier in 2026 by threatening military force against NATO ally Denmark over his demand for US annexation of Greenland.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted during a fragile ceasefire between Iran and the US that was due to expire on April 21.
Some 51 per cent of Americans – including 14 per cent of Republicans, 54 per cent of independents and 85 per cent of Democrats – said Mr Trump’s mental sharpness had got “worse” over the past year.
Mr Trump’s attacks on Pope Leo have drawn attention in part because Americans have a generally higher opinion of the pontiff than they do of the president.
Some 60 per cent of respondents said they had a favorable view of Pope Leo, compared with 36 per cent who said the same of Mr Trump. They also viewed the pope more favorably than prominent Democrats including California Governor Gavin Newsom and former vice-president Kamala Harris.
The poll found only 16 per cent of Americans back a US exit from the NATO alliance, a move Mr Trump has threatened.
The war with Iran triggered a surge in gasoline prices that has hit most Americans’ personal finances. Mr Trump’s approval rating on his handling of the cost of living in the United States was 26 per cent, tied for the lowest reading yet for him.
Similarly, only 26 per cent of respondents in the poll said the US military action in Iran has been worth its costs.
Only 25 per cent of respondents – including 6 per cent of Democrats and 57 per cent of Republicans – said they thought US strikes on Iran would make America safer. REUTERS