Most voters think President Trump made the wrong decision to go to war with Iran, a New York Times/Siena poll found, leaving the Republican Party on rocky political footing heading into the midterm elections as his approval rating sinks and economic concerns rise.

Majorities of voters said that the war was not worth the costs and held deeply pessimistic views about the economy.

Mr. Trump’s approval rating — a key historical predictor of how a president’s party will fare in an election — has sunk to a second-term low in Times/Siena polls of 37 percent amid the deeply unpopular Middle East conflict.

Nearly two-thirds of voters said that going to war had been the wrong decision, including almost three-quarters of politically crucial independents. Less than a quarter of all voters thought the conflict had been worth the costs.

Republicans broadly approved of Mr. Trump’s job performance and the war. But most other voters showed serious skepticism of his leadership on other top issues, including the economy and the cost of living. Sixty-four percent of all voters disapproved of his handling of the economy, long a strength for him, and majorities expressed negative views of how he was managing the cost of living, immigration and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The New York Times/Siena poll

May 11-15

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling …

Net
approval
Approve
  37%  
    
Disapprove
  59%  
−22 pts.
His job as president
  41  
    
  56  
−15 pts.
Immigration
  33  
    
  64  
−31 pts.
The economy
  31  
    
  62  
−31 pts.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict
  31  
    
  65  
−34 pts.
The war in Iran
  28  
    
  69  
−42 pts.
The cost of living
Trump’s Approval Sinks Amid Unpopular War, Darkening G.O.P. Prospects - The New York Times

Based on a New York Times/Siena poll of 1,507 registered voters nationwide conducted May 11 to 15. The gray segment is for voters who did not respond or said they didn’t know.

Ashley Cai and Christine Zhang/The New York Times

The New York Times/Siena poll

May 11-15

Thinking about the nation’s economy, how would you rate economic conditions today?

Trump takes office0102030405060%July 2023Oct. 2024May 2026POOR49%ONLY FAIR27%GOOD18%EXCELLENT4%
Trump’s Approval Sinks Amid Unpopular War, Darkening G.O.P. Prospects - The New York Times

Based on New York Times/Siena polls of registered voters nationwide conducted in July 2023; February, April, September and October 2024; April and September 2025; and January and May 2026. Does not show the share of respondents who did not respond or said they didn’t know.

Ashley Cai and Christine Zhang/The New York Times

Here are the key things to know about this New York Times/Siena poll:

  • The survey was conducted among 1,507 registered voters nationwide from May 11 to 15, 2026.
  • This poll was conducted in English and Spanish, by telephone using live interviewers. Overall, 99 percent of respondents were contacted on their cellphone. You can see the exact questions that were asked and the order in which they were asked here.
  • Voters are selected for the survey from a list of registered voters. The list contains information on the demographic characteristics of every registered voter, allowing us to make sure we reach the right number of voters of each party, race and region. For this poll, interviewers placed nearly 260,000 calls to more than 97,000 voters.
  • To further ensure that the results reflect the entire voting population, not just those willing to take a poll, we give more weight to respondents from demographic groups that are underrepresented among survey respondents, like people without a college degree. You can see more information about the characteristics of respondents and the weighted sample at the bottom of the results and methodology page, under “Composition of the Sample.”
  • The margin of sampling error among registered voters is about plus or minus 2.8 percentage points. In theory, this means that the results should reflect the views of the overall population most of the time, though many other challenges create additional sources of error.

    • You can see full results and a detailed methodology here. If you want to read more about how and why we conduct our polls, you can see answers to frequently asked questions and submit your own questions here.

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