Trump's approval ratings drops to new low. Tennessee support narrows – The Commercial Appeal
The war with Iran has passed the two-month mark, and as gas prices continue to climb, President Donald Trump’s approval ratings continue to drop.
In the latest Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, Trump’s disapproval rating hit 62%, an all-time high from the survey’s history throughout both terms in office.
The high disapproval rate aligned with negative opinions about Trump’s management of the Iran war, the economy, and the cost of living — issues where the president has consistently received poor polling results in recent months.
On Feb. 28, President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iran, which responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz. The halting of most traffic in the strait, which typically carries about 20% of the global oil supply, and increased insurance costs have led to analarmingly high rise in the average price of unleaded gas since the war began.
Since late February, gas prices in Tennessee have risen $1.65 as of May 6. In late February, before the war began, the average price for regular gas in Tennessee was $2.55. On May 6, the average is $4.20, which beats out the previous peak price of $3.93 from April 10.
The May 6 peak price is only 44 cents below the state’s highest recorded average of $4.64 on June 12, 2022.
Trump said on social media that the war could end if Iran agrees to U.S. terms and allows commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. But he said if Tehran doesn’t agree, bombing would resume “at a much higher level and intensity.”
“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” Trump posted on May 6.
His appeal for peace came after he paused “Project Freedom,” an effort launched May 4 to move U.S. commercial vessels through the critical shipping channel. Military leaders said a few U.S. vessels safely passed through the strait in the operation, but Iran restarted its attacks on commercial vessels and neighboring Gulf states.
Trump said in a statement that “we have mutually agreed that… Project Freedom will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized.”
Tehran had not commented publicly on the update as of Tuesday evening. Leaders in Pakistan, a key player in peace negotiations so far, also did not immediately comment.
Most recent Trump approval rating, according to the latest Rasmussen poll (May 6, 2026):
Most recent Trump approval rating, according to the latest New York Times poll (May 6, 2026):
Most recent Trump approval rating according to Pollster Nate Silver’s “Silver Bulletin” newsletter (May 6, 2026):
Most recent Trump approval rating, according to the latest from The Economist (May 6, 2026):
Most recent Trump approval rating according to Civiqs poll (May 5, 2026):
Most recent Trump approval rating, according to the latest from Reuters/Ipsos poll (April 27, 2026):
Civiqs polls, last updated May 6, indicate Trump could be losing his footing in Tennessee. His overall net approval, the difference between approval and disapproval ratings, is 7% in early May compared to the 10% from early April. Most recently, 50% of Tennessee residents approve of his performance, 43% disapprove, and 6% are neutral.
Trump’s net approval in Tennessee began at 26% when he took office and declined to 11% by late 2025, where it has since dropped to below 10%. During his first term, he started with a 17% net rating and ended with an 11% rating.
These polling numbers were also broken down by age, education, gender, race and party.
Jordan Green covers trending news for The Commercial Appeal and Tennessee. She can be reached at jordan.green@commercialappeal.com.