As the Iran war continues to hurt his popularity at home, Donald Trump has said he could run for prime minister in Israel, claiming a “99 percent approval” rating in the country.
The president did not clarify which poll he was basing the claim on, but it would mark a stark contrast with his approval ratings in the U.S. which have hit another low in his second term amid soaring costs and the unpopular conflict in the Middle East.
“Right now I’m at 99 percent in Israel, I could run for prime minister,” he told reporters Wednesday. “So maybe after I do this I’ll go to Israel and run for prime minister.
“Had a poll this morning, I’m 99 percent,” he repeated.
Trump was responding to questions about the war and his relationship with current Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who he described as a “great guy”.
Regardless of his apparent popularity in Israel, the war has contributed to Trump’s tanking approval in the U.S.. His overall approval stands at just 39 percent, according to a new poll from Fox News, with 61 percent expressing disapproval of the job he is doing in the Oval Office.
Disapproval of the Iran war was up to 60 percent in May, from 55 percent in April, despite two-thirds of those polled saying they believe the U.S. is winning the conflict.
The same poll highlighted growing concerns over the economic pressures exacerbated by the war, started by Trump and Netanyahu at the end of February.
Just 24 percent of respondents said they approved of the job he was doing in bringing the issue under control, down from 35 percent in January.
In the latest survey, 96 percent of self-identified Democrats expressed their disapproval, but so did 85 percent of independents and even a slim majority of Republicans at 51 percent.
Fox’s findings come a week after the Department of Labor revealed that wholesale inflation was at its highest level since the immediate post-pandemic period under Joe Biden in 2022, with the producer price index doubling between March and April to 1.4 percent.
Overall, Trump scored just 29 percent approval for his work on the economy, as 71 percent of people expressed disapproval – a rise of 15 percent on the 56 percent thumbs-down he scored in the same poll exactly a year ago and an increase of 5 percent month-on-month.
Breaking it down further, 77 percent of people taking part in the survey said they considered the U.S. economy in bad shape, up from 73 percent in April, with only 23 percent scoring it positively.
Fifty-eight percent said they considered the rising cost of living their primary economic concern, up from 50 percent in February, and dwarfing all other issues like government spending, unemployment, and taxes.
Another 51 percent said their family’s personal finances were worse off than they were two years ago under Biden.
After being returned to the White House in 2024 on a promise to bring down the cost of living, Trump has introduced a series of signature policies that have only served to make the more problem more acute.
His immigration crackdown has made life more difficult for domestic manufacturers, his on-off reciprocal tariffs program has caused the cost of consumer goods to climb, and the Iran war has driven up gas prices at the pump.
Yet the president continues to insist all is well, last week facing backlash after appearing to dismiss voters’ concerns about the economy.
“I don’t think about American financial situation — I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” he told reporters.
