March 11, 2026, 10:27 a.m. ET
- Recent polls show more voters disapprove of President Trump’s handling of the war in Iran than approve.
- Trump’s overall job approval rating remains underwater, according to several recent polls and polling averages.
With U.S. military action more than a week underway in Iran, polls are beginning to emerge on how it reflects on President Donald Trump with voters.
Trump’s approval rating overall has been underwater for nearly a year now, drumming up concerns for Republicans in the midterm elections coming up this fall. Several polls also show voters’ biggest concern is the economy and the cost of living, on which Trump has also received poor ratings.
Meanwhile, gas prices have risen faster than usual due to the war. Trump has said the military campaign in Iran will be over “very soon,” but will last more than a week.
See the latest polls about how voters feel about the war:
Polls show Trump’s handling of Iran war is controversial
Here are some recent polls on the war in Iran:
The Economist/YouGov: Poll conducted March 6-9 among 1,563 U.S. adult citizens (margin of error is approximately 3.4 percentage points).
- On Trump’s handling of Iran: 39% approve, 52% disapprove
- Trump’s approval rating overall: 40% approve, 55% disapprove
- Trump’s best issue is immigration, which received 45% approval and 52% disapproval. His worst by this pollster is inflation, which received a 33% approval and 62% disapproval.
Quinnipiac University: Poll conducted March 6-8 among 1,002 registered voters (margin of error = 3.8 percentage points).
- 53% of voters oppose U.S. military action in Iran, compared to 40% who support it.
- Democrats oppose the military action (89% to 7%) while Republicans support it (85% to 11%). Independents also oppose it (60% to 31%).
- For Trump’s approval rating overall, 37% approve of how Trump is handling his job as president, while 57% disapprove, virtually unchanged from the pollster’s update in February.
NBC News: Poll conducted February 27-March 3 among 1,000 registered voters (margin of error = 3.1 percentage points).
- 52% of respondents said the U.S. should not have taken military action compared to 41% who said it should have. A similar share disapproves of how Trump is handling Iran.
- Trump’s overall approval rating is at 44%, with 54% disapproving of Trump’s performance as president.
- 50% of respondents preferred that Congress be controlled by Democrats after the midterms, while 44% preferred it be controlled by Republicans.
What is Trump’s average approval rating?
Averages calculated by the New York Times and RealClearPolitics aggregators show Trump’s approval rating has been net negative since the spring of his first year back in office. From April to November, it stayed relatively stable until dropping suddenly, rebounding slightly in December, and sliding again through the turn of the new year.
RealClearPolitics graphics show 43.2% approve of Trump’s job performance and 54.3% disapprove as of March 11. The lowest term approval came on Feb. 17 at 42%. It was also his worst net approval rating at -13.5 percentage points.
The New York Times aggregator shows 41% approve of Trump’s job performance as of March 11. It is a notch above the lowest approval rating (40%) for Trump per the Times, which he first reached on Feb 12. His disapproval is also at 55%. His highest disapproval was reached on March 1 at 57%.
The low dates in the poll aggregators reflect polls taken in previous days. In mid-February, fallout continued from millions of documents released through the Epstein Files Transparency Act, Trump took a major blow when the Supreme Court ruled against many of his tariffs and tensions with Iran were on the rise.
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her onX (Twitter),Bluesky andTikTok.
