WASHINGTON (AP) — More U.S. adults support President Donald Trump’s handling of the conflict in Israel after he brokered a ceasefire deal in Gaza, according to a new AP-NORC poll — but his approval ratings on domestic issues remain tender.
The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows Trump’s apparent success on the world stage has not yet improved his overall standing at home. In interviews, some of his constituents even said he needed to do more to address issues like the economy, health care and immigration.
“It’s kind of cool that he’s bringing peace, but I think, ‘You kind of have to worry about your American people instead of bringing peace to the world first,'” said Justin Sanders, a 31-year-old Republican from Birmingham, Alabama, who voted for Trump twice.
“We need inflation to go down,” added Sanders, who works as a driver for DoorDash. “I’m tired of sitting here day after day trying to figure out whether I’m going to eat or not.”
The survey was conducted October 9-13, before the hostages and prisoners were released in Israel but after the ceasefire agreement was announced. The tenuous ceasefire in Gaza continued this week, although major questions remain about the U.S. plan for the region and whether peace can be maintained.
At the same time, Trump is facing major hurdles at home: The government shutdown in the US is already in its third week, prices remain too high for many Americans and millions more people are affected by healthcare cuts and hospital closures.
In the new poll, about four in 10 U.S. adults approve of the way Trump is carrying out his job as president overall, unchanged from September.
Trump’s approval of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is rising
About half of U.S. adults, 47%, approve of how Trump is handling the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. That’s up from 37% in September and is primarily due to Democrats viewing Trump more favorably on the issue.
Jack Bornstein of Alpharetta, Georgia, a 61-year-old independent who normally votes Democratic, said he was pleased that the Israeli hostages were released as part of the deal negotiated by Trump.
“He deserves credit for that. That’s probably the only thing I can say that’s positive for him,” Bornstein said, citing concerns about rising food prices, health care and Trump’s character.
However, separate AP-NORC polls from July suggest that compared to the situation in the Middle East, Americans are much more likely to say that domestic issues – such as the economy, health care, taxes, government spending and immigration – are “extremely” or “very” significant to them.
In the July survey, only about 4 in 10 said the Middle East was at least “very” significant to them personally, compared to about 9 in 10 who said the same about the economy.
Most disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, immigration and health care
When it comes to domestic issues, Americans don’t think Trump is doing particularly well – even on immigration, a key issue for the Republican president.
About four in 10 U.S. adults approve of the way Trump is handling immigration, in line with his September action but down slightly from the start of his second term.
When it comes to the economy, which is the biggest concern for many, only about a third of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s performance. The number remained constant during his second term.
One of Trump’s weakest issues is healthcare, an issue that has taken center stage during the ongoing government shutdown.
According to September, about three in 10 U.S. adults support Trump’s leadership on health care. Nearly all Democrats disapprove of his work on health care, but so do about eight in 10 independents and about a third of Republicans.
Alison Weaver, a 62-year-old independent from Roanoke, Virginia, said Trump’s second term was “a debacle.”
She criticized his “Gestapo tactics” on immigration and laughed loudly when asked about his performance on health care.
“It’s terrible,” Weaver said.
Most say the country is going in the wrong direction
Trump’s domestic challenges come on the eve of a new election season in which voters in New Jersey and Virginia will elect new governors next month, while several other states are holding local elections.
Trump’s tender numbers could cause problems for Republican candidates who have been wary of distancing themselves from the Republican president. The new poll could also raise concerns among incumbents of both parties, as about seven in 10 U.S. adults say things are going in the wrong direction in this country.
That’s a slight decline from September, shortly after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, when about three-quarters of Americans said the country was moving in the wrong direction. Republicans are less likely to say the country is going in the wrong direction than they were last month, and are nearing levels before Kirk’s assassination. Democrats and independents haven’t changed much.
Dean Grace, a 73-year-old Democrat from Duluth, Minnesota, said he had very little positive to say about Trump.
“I give him some praise for the ceasefire, even if it is a stretch to call for peace in the Middle East,” he said. “My problem is that as a Christian I can’t find anything that I can morally agree with my president on.”
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Völker reported from New York.
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The AP-NORC poll of 1,289 adults was conducted Oct. 9-13. A sample was used from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is intended to be representative of the US population. The overall sampling error rate for adults is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
