Trump's Approval Hits Record Low at 32%... Houthi Airstrike Requested by Saudi Arabia Postponed at Last Minute
Approval Among Republicans Drops by 9 Points in One Week
Only 17% Positive on Handling of Living Costs
Houthi Airstrikes Requested by Saudi Arabia Ultimately Postponed
U.S. President Donald Trump's approval rating has dropped to 32%, marking the lowest point of his political career. As public opinion deteriorates amid surging living costs caused by the war with Iran, President Trump prepared for an airstrike on Yemen's Houthi forces at Saudi Arabia's request, but ultimately put the operation on hold at the last minute.
According to a poll released on the 21st (local time) by Reuters and the polling agency Ipsos, 32% of respondents supported President Trump’s job performance, a decrease of 3 percentage points from a week earlier. The Reuters-Ipsos poll was conducted from September 17 to 20 among 1,277 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of approximately ±3 percentage points for the full sample.
This approval rating is known to be the lowest of President Trump’s political career. The job approval among Republican supporters also dropped 9 percentage points during the same period, falling from 82% to 73%.
Ratings for handling the cost-of-living issue were especially poor. Only 17% of respondents held a positive view of President Trump’s response to rising living costs. Even among Republican supporters, negative assessments (51%) outnumbered positive ones (44%) for the first time. Support for airstrikes on Iran stood at 34%, while 82% of respondents believed the war would be prolonged.
Trump Holds Off on Houthi Airstrikes
Amid these developments, President Trump considered but eventually held off on a direct attack against the Houthis. According to Axios, Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke with President Trump twice on September 10, requesting U.S. airstrikes against the Houthis. President Trump declined the request at the time and instead agreed to provide intelligence and information on strike targets.
After Saudi Arabia renewed its request last week for military intervention to stop the Houthi offensive, President Trump met with his advisers to discuss airstrike options. U.S. Central Command chief Brad Cooper drew up strike plans for Yemen and reported them to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on September 19.
The New York Times (NYT) reported that, although U.S. forces had approved strike targets and even armed fighter jets with bombs, President Trump decided to hold off on the airstrikes on September 20. Axios reported that Trump was torn between wanting to support Saudi Arabia and the risk of getting involved in a new war in the Middle East.
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The advance of the Houthis is heightening concerns over the security of the Red Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, key routes for Saudi oil exports. President Trump now faces a situation where he must respond to an ally’s request for support while also considering the potential impact of further military intervention on oil prices and domestic living costs.
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