President Donald Trump’s approval rating has sunk to its lowest point of his second term as backlash over the escalating conflict with Iran intensifies.
The latest YouGov/Economist polling, conducted between February 27-March 2 among 1,515 adults, shows that Trump’s net approval rating has fallen to -21 points, with 38 percent approving of his job performance and 59 percent disapproving.
That is his lowest net approval rating since November 2017. It is also Trump’s highest disapproval rating of his second term.
Meanwhile, a majority of Americans—51 percent—now say they strongly disapprove of Trump’s job performance, the highest level recorded in either of his two terms and the first time that figure has crossed 50 percent.
The poll also showed that Trump’s popularity has reached a record low with independents. Among the group, just 26 percent approve of Trump’s performance, while a record 69 percent disapprove—giving him a net rating of -43, the worst of either term.
At the same point in his first term, Trump’s net approval with independents was -12.
It is not the only polling that has shown record lows for the president. The Economist’s tracker puts Trump’s net approval rating at -19 points, lower than at any point in his first term.
It comes after the U.S. and Israel launched unprovoked “major combat operations” against Iran over the weekend—which saw Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and dozens of Iranian officials killed. Six U.S. service members were also killed in retaliatory strikes in Kuwait.
Since then, polls have largely shown that a majority of Americans disapprove of the decision to strike Iran. CNN polling showed that 59 percent of Americans disapprove of the initial decision to strike Iran, with 41 percent approving.
The YouGov/Economist polling showed that 48 disapprove, while 37 percent approve.
That was mostly driven by Democrats who are overwhelmingly critical of the attacks, with 78 percent disapproving. But the criticism is not limited to Democrats.
While most MAGA Republicans said they strongly approve of the attacks (65 percent), only 27 percent of non-MAGA Republicans said they approve.
YouGov polling published on February 28, the day of the first strikes on Iran, showed that 69 percent of Republicans backed the strikes. But that is far lower than the 93 percent who supported George W. Bush’s Iraq War in 2003 or the 96 percent who backed the Afghanistan invasion in 2001.
Meanwhile, Reuters/Ipsos polling of 1,282 U.S. adults between February 28 and March 1 found that 23 percent of Republicans said Trump is too quick to use military force.
Trump’s escalating use of military force has exposed a widening divide inside the Republican Party, particularly among his “America First” supporters who backed his 2024 “no new wars” pledge.
The strikes on Iran marked the second U.S. attack on Tehran in the past year, following the June 2025 hits on nuclear sites, and came after his operation to capture Venezuela’s president and talk of possible action in Cuba — moves critics say clash with his anti-interventionist campaign message.
The backlash from parts of his base was swift. Andrew Tate posted, “NOBODY WANTS THIS WAR,” adding, “I do not support war with Iran for Israel.”
Nick Fuentes called it “a war of aggression for Israel,” writing, “Trump, Vance, and Rubio sold us out.”
Rep. Thomas Massie also broke ranks, declaring, “I am opposed to this War. This is not ‘America First,’” and vowing to force a congressional vote on further escalation.
Since the strikes began, Trump has offered a number of different explanations for why the strikes were ordered and how long they might last, fueling concern that the war could drag on.
Trump’s timeline for the war has shifted from a matter of days to more than a month—a duration defense officials warn could strain U.S. air defenses and munitions stockpiles.
His justification has also evolved. He initially said Iran was preparing missile attacks on U.S. bases, but Pentagon officials later told congressional staffers there was no evidence of imminent preemptive strikes.
Trump further claimed Iran was building missiles that “could soon reach the American homeland,” a statement U.S. intelligence assessments disputed, concluding Tehran is years away from developing intercontinental ballistic missiles and has shown no intent to do so.
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego told CNN that without a clear plan, there is a risk it could turn into a “long-term war.”
“We don‘t actually have a concept of victory. We—you know, our justification for going into the war is entirely different from what we‘re hearing from the president right now. Again, this is even after the president went publicly and spoke to that. And that all is a very scary situation,” he said. “Like, for me, as someone who had to live through some really bad decisions in 2005 that the, you know, the then-administration did, if we don‘t know how we can get out of this war, if we don‘t know what the actual victory is, we‘re seeing potentially a long-term war.”
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