WASHINGTON — A new national poll shows that most Americans are not satisfied with how President Donald Trump has handled the conflict with Iran, even as a tentative agreement to end the fighting came together. His overall approval rating, meanwhile, has remained flat, according to the AP-NORC survey conducted as Trump announced a deal had been reached.
The poll underscores just how unpopular the three-month war with Iran has been across the country, even as Trump shifted sharply from threatening further escalation to pursuing negotiations. About 65% of U.S. adults — roughly two-thirds — said they disapprove of Trump’s approach to Iran. The disapproval is heavily split along party lines: the vast majority of Democrats and independents view his actions negatively, but only 28% of Republicans share that view.
Trump’s Iran numbers closely mirror his broader job approval, which sits at 37% — identical to where it stood in an AP-NORC poll taken in May.
The survey was carried out June 11-17, shortly after Trump pulled back from threats to intensify the war. It wrapped up just before the final deal was signed on Wednesday, during which Trump announced an agreement with Iran and authorized lifting the U.S. naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
Even among Republicans, some expressed dissatisfaction with the terms of the agreement. The deal allows Iran to resume selling its oil on the open market immediately, reopens the Strait of Hormuz without tolls for two months, restarts diplomatic talks over Iran’s nuclear program, and requires Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
David Farrington, a 79-year-old Republican-leaning independent from Fort Worth, Texas, said he has no sympathy for Iran — but he’s disappointed the deal centered on the strait rather than delivering meaningful progress on the country’s nuclear weapons program.
