Trump approval ticks up to 36% as cost-of-living worries ease slightly

A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed President Donald Trump’s approval rating edging up to 36%, a one-point gain that looks modest against a still-broad wall of dissatisfaction. The bigger story is not a political rebound, but a slight easing in cost-of-living anger that has left Trump’s standing weak and his economic message under strain.

Just 24% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s handling of the cost of living in the June 12-15 survey, up from 22% a week earlier and 20% a month earlier. Disapproval on that issue fell to 69% from 73% a month earlier. The move is small, but it gives the White House a better reading on the issue that has done the most to shape voters’ mood through the first months of Trump’s second term.

The poll of 1,537 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of 3 percentage points, was fielded before and after Trump’s June 14 announcement that he and Iranian leaders had agreed to end the war between the two countries. Even so, Americans were still paying roughly $1 more per gallon than before the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, 2026, keeping gasoline and broader inflation anxiety near the center of the political debate.

The latest numbers suggest relief more than recovery. Trump began his second term in January 2025 with 47% approval, 11 points higher than the 36% measured in this poll. A separate Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted June 3-8 had already put Trump at 35% approval and 63% disapproval, with 22% approval on the cost of living. That earlier poll also found 59% of respondents expected gas prices to rise further over the next year because of the Iran conflict.

The political risk extends beyond Trump’s personal standing. In the June 12-15 poll, 41% of registered voters said they would back a Democratic congressional candidate if elections were held today, compared with 38% for Republicans, while 18% were undecided or considering a third party. Independent voters favored Democrats by 35% to 22%, a warning sign for Republicans heading toward the November 3, 2026 midterm elections, when narrow congressional majorities will be on the line.

Trump’s weakness has also lingered in places that usually anchor Republican support. In the June 3-8 poll, rural approval stood at 50%, down from 60% in February 2025, while rural disapproval rose to 48% from 34%. That makes the latest uptick look less like a clean comeback than a pause in public frustration, with affordability still acting as the main test of whether Trump can convert a little less anger into durable political support.