Most Americans continue to disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling Iran, while his overall presidential approval holds steady, according to a new AP-NORC poll. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
The poll was conducted as Trump suggested a deal with Iran had been reached. It points to just how unpopular the three-month war with Iran has been with Americans. About two-thirds, 65%, of U.S. adults disapprove of how Trump is handling issues with Iran. While the vast majority of Democrats and independents view Trump's actions negatively, only 28% of Republicans are unhappy.
Americans' views on how the president is handling Iran are roughly in line with his overall job approval, which stands at 37%, unchanged from an AP-NORC poll conducted in May.
The survey was conducted June 11-17, just after Trump called off threats to escalate the war with Iran. The poll was fielded as Trump announced a deal with Iran and authorized an end to the U.S. naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, concluding just before the deal was signed Wednesday.
Approval of Trump's actions on Iran has been low over the last few months. But in interviews, some Republicans also weren't pleased with the outcome of this week's agreement. The deal gives Iran an immediate benefit, allowing it to sell its oil freely again. The deal also reopens the strait without tolls for two months, restarts talks between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program and calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
David Farrington, a 79-year-old Republican-leaning independent in Fort Worth, Texas, "doesn't have any love lost" for Iran, but he's frustrated the agreement focused on the strait and didn't deliver more on the country's nuclear weapons program. "Any agreement regarding the strait is hardly what..." he said.