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Could careening Trump poll numbers be a bad sign for GOP’s midterm hopes?

May 5, 2026 | | Print Article

The war in Iran and the ongoing upward spike of gas prices due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have many Americans losing faith in President Donald J. Trump, a potential bad sign for Republicans in the upcoming midterms.

A newly released ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll shows the nation’s 47th president at a new high in his disapproval ratings, with more than 60 percent giving Trump a thumbs down over leadership of the country.

The numbers are even worse when it comes to the cost of living and inflation, which remains persistent, with 76 percent and 72 percent expressing the opinion that things are going in the wrong direction.

Perhaps even worse for Trump is that a whopping 66 percent don’t approve of his management of the Iran war, a huge gamble that he has staked his presidency on.

The poll is just the latest signaling public dissatisfaction with a recent Reuters/Ipsos survey finding that the president’s approval rating has sunk to 34 percent, the lowest of his second term.

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The administration shrugged off the dismal numbers, confident that Americans would suck it up at the pump if that’s what it takes to prevent the Iranian regime from getting nuclear weapons.

“What matters most to the American people is having a Commander-in-Chief who takes decisive action to eliminate threats and keep them safe, which is exactly what President Trump did with the successful Operation Epic Fury,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement to The Hill.

“President Trump campaigned proudly on his promise to deny the Iranian regime the ability to develop a nuclear weapon, and he’s kept his promise,” Ingle added. “The President does not make these incredibly important national security decisions based on fluid opinion polls, but on the best interests of the American people.”

Trump himself has said that he’s “won” on affordability and insists that the Iran war won’t last long.

Democrats are looking to capitalize on voter anger the longer that the crisis drags on, and are licking their chops that it could further bolster their hopes in the November midterms, which are historically a referendum on the president and party in power.

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“The Democrats are going to say, ‘This is about Trump. Forget about who we are. Forget about our platform or issues. This is just about what the president is,’” Emerson College Polling executive director Spencer Kimball said, according to The Hill.

“The Republicans are going to have to somehow distance themselves from some of those policies while still coming up with other ideas for why voters should vote for them as opposed to just continuing on with the Trump policies,” Kimball added, “and I think they’re in a tough place.”

The GOP’s saving grace is that there are still six months until the midterms, an eternity in politics.

“Frankly, I’m past a point where I’m comfortable, but I still think we have the time,” Michigan Republican strategist Jason Cabel Roe told The Hill.

“Markets don’t really react to supply. They react to stability, and if there is a stabilizing situation, not just in the conflict, but for the region long-term, you’re going to see that reflected in the price of oil based on what the future looks like,” he added. “And we’ll see a pretty immediate drop in the price of gas and all the things that affect in terms of the cost of living.”

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Chris Donaldson
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