President Donald Trump's approval rating fell to 32%, the lowest of his political career, as his fellow Republicans soured on his handling of the cost of living amid the unpopular Iran war, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll of 1,277 adults nationwide released Sept. 21. The numbers land like a bill shoved across the counter. Ordinary people are paying for decisions made at the top, while the White House keeps talking about strength.
Just 17% of respondents approved of Trump's handling of the cost of living, and the poll found that the issue Americans said would determine how they voted in November. That’s the real pressure point. Not the speeches, not the flags, not the theater of power. Groceries, gas and healthcare.
Who Pays for the War Machine
Some 82% of poll respondents, including nine in 10 Democrats and three-quarters of Republicans, said the conflict would likely go on for an "extended period of time." That expectation hangs over every checkout line and every fuel pump. The war doesn’t stay neatly overseas. It gets passed down through prices, wages and debt.
The cost of groceries, gas and healthcare ranked as top pain points for rural voters, according to an Associated Press poll, in partnership with KFF. Nearly seven in 10 rural voters supported Trump in the 2024 election. But about two-thirds of rural voters were "very" or "somewhat" worried about being able to afford gas or healthcare, compared to about one-third who were not, according to the survey of more than 2,000 registered voters surveyed over two weeks in late August. About 60% of voters were concerned about the cost of groceries or monthly utilities, compared to 40% who weren't.
That’s the hierarchy in plain view. The people who are told to cheer for the boss are the same people getting squeezed by the boss’s choices.
What the Polls Say, What the Powerful Hear
About two-thirds of registered voters disapproved of Trump's handling of the economy and the war with Iran, according to a Quinnipiac University poll that surveyed 970 registered voters Sept. 3 to 6. About 60% of respondents disapproved of Trump's handling of Russia's war with Ukraine, trade with Canada and foreign policy. Tim Malloy, a Quinnipiac University polling analyst, said, "While neither (party) gets high marks generally, the Democrats are judged more empathetic when it comes to the concerns of voters."
That line says plenty about the choices people are handed. One party sells domination with a harder grin, the other with a softer one. Either way, the machinery keeps running.
Trump pledged to campaign heavily during the month before the Nov. 3 midterm elections in about three-dozen competitive races, including traditional Republican territory in Alaska and Texas. "In some cases, you can be losing by a lot and we'll bring you over the line," Trump told Republicans at a Rose Garden dinner Sept. 2. The line sounds less like persuasion than a promise to drag candidates across the finish line with the weight of the presidential apparatus behind them.
Since Labor Day, the traditional start of the campaign season, Trump focused on foreign affairs. He traveled to Ireland on Sept. 12 and 13 for a meeting with the prime minister and a golf tournament. He spoke at the United Nations on Sept. 22, threatening to "annihilate" Iran and predicting the failure of Cuba's government. Trump said he had "a very good meeting" with Xi on Sept. 24 without elaborating, and said on Sept. 25 while hosting Xi for tea in the White House's Red Room, "A lot of very positive things happened," adding that farmers would be happy without elaborating. "Great things for both countries. It's been just very, very productive."
What They Call Order
Trump gave significant attention to domestic issues during his speech Sept. 22 to the United Nations General Assembly. He promoted investment in the United States, a lower crime rate and heightened border security. He has argued that eliminating taxes on overtime, tips and Social Security benefits, and negotiating lower prices for prescription drugs, should make for a winning ticket in November. Trump said, "America is rising. Our nation is growing. Our power is expanding," and, "Our country is doing better than ever before, and our future is very, very bright."
But foreign affairs dominated the speech and headlines focused on his threat to "annihilate" Iran, his prediction that Cuba's government "will fall" and that the "spoils" of Venezuelan oil from removing that country's president "belong to the victor." Trump also said, "While others have ignored threats, I have confronted them," and, "While others have promised strength, I have used it to make America the most powerful country in the world."
That’s the language of empire dressed up as leadership. The people at the bottom get the costs; the people at the top get to call it strength.
Some fellow Republicans lost patience with the war that began Feb. 28. Four Senate Republicans — Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, North Carolina's Thom Tillis, Kentucky's Rand Paul and Maine's Susan Collins — supported a resolution Sept. 24 to end the war, although the measure failed. Trump initially said the war would last weeks. After six months, he predicted it would end soon after the Nov. 3 midterm elections for Congress.
Fuel prices were up significantly because of Iran's threat to commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Higher costs for diesel fuel rippled through the economy because of the higher cost of transportation. Gas prices averaged $4.49 on Sept. 25, compared to $2.87 in late January, according to AAA. Diesel fuel averaged $6.50 per gallon on Sept. 25, after breaking $6 on Sept. 11 for the first time ever. Trump said higher fuel costs were "a small price to pay" for preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The Bill Arrives at the Checkout Line
Former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Michigan, who was campaigning to succeed Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, said on social media Sept. 21 and in a television ad that the Iran war needed to end. "The war with Iran needs to end and end quickly," Rogers said in the ad, which featured his first name in red and last name in blue. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, who was campaigning to succeed GOP Sen. Joni Ernst, said on social media Sept. 21 that Iowans shouldn't have to foot the bill for the Iran war with higher grocery prices. But she also voted four times against resolutions to end the war immediately. "Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn't have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran," Hinson said. Both candidates supported suspending the gas tax and diesel exports.
Another setback to Trump's domestic priorities came days after he returned from a trip to Ireland, when the Federal Reserve Bank raised interest rates Sept. 16 for the first time since July 2023. Trump traveled to Ireland on Sept. 12 and 13 to meet Taoiseach Micheal Martin and attend the Irish Open golf tournament at his resort in Doonbeg. He advocated Irish reunification and ended tariffs on Irish whiskey, which he'd imposed. Trump had earlier appointed a new chair, Kevin Warsh, to the Federal Reserve Bank's board and demanded lower interest rates. But the board voted Sept. 16 to raise rates for the first time since 2023.
Rep. Jason Smith, R-Missouri, who heads the Ways and Means Committee, which oversees taxes, echoed Trump in arguing that "interest rates should be coming down, not going up." Smith said in a statement Sept. 16, "American workers, families, and small businesses have waited long enough for relief from high borrowing costs that make it harder to buy a home, start a business, or get ahead." The Fed typically raises rates to tame inflation by making borrowing more expensive, which can lead to less demand and eventually lower prices. The Labor Department's Consumer Price Index, a key measure of underlying inflation, posted its largest increase in four months on Sept. 11. Mortgage rates surpassed 7% for the first time in a year, making it harder to buy houses. Trump told reporters in Ireland on Sept. 13 that the country "should be paying the lowest interest rate in the world," no matter what the Federal Reserve's data indicates about inflation and the economy. He said, "I know more about formulas than anybody, and with the best credit in the world, we make other countries rich."