With only months before November’s midterms and as gas prices continue to rise across the United States, an overwhelming number of Americans say President Donald Trump has not paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems.
In a new CNN/SSRS poll released Wednesday, 73% of U.S. adults said Trump has not “paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems.” That large majority is the highest ever recorded by the pollster in either of Trump’s two terms in the White House.
The same poll found 71% of Americans said the president has not gone far enough in trying to lower the price of everyday goods. CNN/SSRS’ findings come as U.S. gas prices averaged $4.09 on Thursday and as the deeply unpopular war in Iran continues.
The CNN/SSRS poll was conducted from July 23 to July 27 with 1,225 respondents and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
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The White House did not immediately respond to USA Today’s request for comment.
President Donald Trump disembarks Marine One upon arrival Friday at Camp David in Thurmont, Md.
Problems with Iran and problems at home
The poll also found almost two-thirds of Americans believe the president's policies worsened economic conditions in the nation. A similar number of Americans also believe Trump’s military decisions in Iran hurt rather than helped the U.S.
Despite the Iran war now lasting for more than five months, a large majority — 71%, of Americans — believes the conflict is set to continue for a long time. A similar majority, 74%, said they thought Trump did not have a clear plan for handling the war.
Strikes between the U.S. and Iran have been ongoing after a ceasefire collapsed.
The U.S. military launched strikes in Iran on Wednesday in response to Tehran launching missiles at U.S. and Saudi forces in a "surprise attack," with Trump saying he wanted to hit Iranians "very hard" and "smack them a little bit."
At home, Trump launched controversial construction projects in the nation's capital. Among them, he tore down the White House’s East Wing and began to build a large ballroom in its place, and renovated the National Mall’s Reflecting Pool.
Despite Trump touting those projects as an effort to beautify the capital, fewer than half of Republicans feel positively about the president's efforts. On the flipside, an overwhelming number of Democrats and Independents say they feel negatively toward Trump’s construction projects, according to the CNN/SSRS poll.
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner participate in a Cabinet meeting Friday at Camp David in Thurmont, Md.
Historically bad polling week
This past week was historic for the president, as Trump hit record-low approval ratings in four separate polls.
In CNN/SSRS’ poll, Trump’s approval rating was 34%. That low mark matched his previous low at the end of his first term in office, in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, during which a mob of his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol seeking to prevent Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s electoral win over Trump in the 2020 election.
On Tuesday, an Economist/YouGov poll found 34% of Americans approved of Trump’s job performance, marking the president's lowest approval rating in YouGov’s tracking since he returned to the White House in January 2025.
A poll Quinnipiac University released Wednesday showed Trump's approval rating at 32%, according to the pollster; that was the lowest recorded in either of his terms in office. On Thursday, an AP-NORC poll set the president's approval rating at 33%, the lowest recorded by that pollster since his return to the White House.
