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Republicans remain broadly behind President Donald Trump even as the Iran war continues and U.S. consumers report strain from higher prices, according to an AP-NORC poll released Tuesday. The survey finds that GOP approval of Trump’s economic performance has declined since late winter, while Republican approval of his immigration approach remains higher than their approval on the economy.
The AP-NORC poll reported that about 6 in 10 Republicans approve of how Trump is handling the economy. The share represents a drop from about 8 in 10 in February, before the war with Iran began, according to the pollster’s comparison across time. The poll was conducted as the war with Iran helped push gasoline prices higher, with the U.S. and Iran continuing efforts toward a permanent ceasefire.
The poll also framed that divergence within Trump’s standing inside his party, noting that his support among Republicans remained strong even as economic frustration grows. It cited Trump’s Tuesday political moment in which his handpicked candidate defeated Rep. Thomas Massie, described in the AP report as a Trump critic, in a primary election challenge.
A Wisconsin Republican, Ariel Gutierrez, said he and his family are feeling the added pressure from rising gas prices, and linked that to the broader Iran-related strain. Gutierrez, who said he typically has his teenage children pay for their own gas, described helping out his 15-year-old as they faced higher costs. “The whole Iran issue has just exacerbated it,” Gutierrez said, adding that he believes the impact is tied to “this push on gas and travel” and that it is “directly impacting us” now.
When asked about the economy more broadly, the poll said about one-third of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling the issue. It reported that this figure aligns with an AP-NORC poll from late April, but is slightly down from the start of his second term, when 40% of U.S. adults approved. The poll also said Trump’s second-term economic approval has fallen among Republicans specifically, with 63% approving, down from 79% in February.
In Las Vegas, another Republican, Richard Baumgartner, said he supports the war effort and views higher costs as a necessary side effect. Baumgartner said, “Unfortunately, because of the war, the economy is a little bit off kilter,” and he argued prices would ease after events overseas resolve. “Temporary price increases — it’s unfortunate, but it’s something that has to be confronted in a situation like this where you have a very serious problem,” he said.
On immigration, the poll found Trump may be regaining or holding an advantage even as economic concerns rise. It said immigration appeared early in Trump’s second term as one of his strengths, with about half of U.S. adults saying they liked his approach, but that approval dipped to 38% in January and February after months of aggressive immigration enforcement that included the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.
Now, the poll said just under half of U.S. adults—45%—approve of how Trump is handling immigration. It reported that the Trump administration has appeared in recent months to recalibrate its approach, moving from “aggressive, public-facing tactics” toward what the AP described as a quieter enforcement posture. Among Republicans, the poll said approval stays high at about 8 in 10.
Brenda Theiss, an independent from Cullman, Alabama, told the AP she dislikes parts of what Trump is doing, but she credited him with disrupting the status quo to reduce illegal border crossings compared with Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Theiss said “He’s closing the border. He did it,” and she contrasted it with what she described as inaction during the Biden administration. “I liked Obama; I voted for Obama — but Trump was the only one that did something,” she said, adding, “All of the other presidents sat back and went, ‘Well there’s nothing we can do,’” and giving him “one hundred” for doing so.
Despite those areas of GOP support, the AP-NORC poll found Trump’s approach to Iran and other foreign-policy issues remains unpopular with the broader public. It reported that only about one-third of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling the war with Iran, while roughly two-thirds of Republicans approve. The report also said younger Republicans are more likely to disapprove than older ones, based on an AP-NORC poll conducted last month.
On foreign policy overall, the poll reported about one-third of Americans approve of Trump’s approach, and said U.S. views have not shifted significantly even as Trump has taken a more aggressive international posture this year. The poll included an example from Amanda Wylie, a 22-year-old Republican-leaning independent in Athens, Georgia, who said she does not support Trump’s handling of Iran and argued the effort could be costly. “I feel like we’re wasting resources over there at this point and not for the benefit of the American people,” she said, adding, “Especially if everyone is worried about gas prices and the ultimate goal of this is to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon. Yes, that’s important, but at what cost?”
Overall, the poll reported that Trump’s approval rating stands at 37%, up slightly from 33% in April. It said nearly all Democrats disapprove of Trump’s performance as president, as do about 7 in 10 independents.
The AP-NORC poll of 1,117 adults was conducted May 14-18 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, described as representative of the U.S. population, with a reported margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points for adults overall.