President Donald Trump’s rise in the political world is one that will be studied for decades. The man who was once a real estate tycoon and Hollywood icon was able to climb to the reins of power in the U.S.
Trump’s first term was largely determined by his economic and foreign policy wins. He was the first president in the modern era under whose watch a war had not broken out, having signed the historic Abraham Accords to ensure peace in the Middle East.
Gas prices from 2017-2021 had reached record lows and Americans were largely content with the president’s handling of the economy.
In 2018, specifically, 49% of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of the economy.
Flash-forward to today, Americans aren’t sure about how to feel about the current state of affairs in the nation.
A poll released by Fox showed that just 28% of Americans now approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, with gas prices reaching Biden-era highs.
Just 37% of adults approve of the president’s overall job performance, marking a steep decline from 45% who said the same just a year ago, according to the Decision Desk.
Americans have grown widely critical of Trump, specifically pointing to his decision to launch a war against the Iranian regime. For context, gas prices have soared since the start of the conflict, which began in late February.
On Feb. 28, Trump launched Operation Epic Fury, a series of bombardments against Iran. The State Department describes this operation as necessary to protect Israel and the U.S.
“Epic Fury is only the latest round of an ongoing international armed conflict with Iran. As the United States has explained in multiple letters to the U.N. Security Council, including most recently on March 10, the United States is engaged in this conflict at the request of and in the collective self-defense of its Israeli ally, as well as in the exercise of the United States’ own inherent right of self-defense,” the department wrote in a press release.
Trump has seen many of his former MAGA allies drift away from him as the war drags on.
Conservative firebrand Tucker Carlson, among others, has been one of the most outspoken critics of the president and the ongoing conflict.
Carlson, who rallied for Trump in the 2024 election against former Vice President Kamala Harris, says he felt “tormented” over his past support for Trump.
“It’s a moment to wrestle with our own consciences,” Carlson said in a recent podcast. “We’ll be tormented by it for a long time. I will be. And I want to say I’m sorry for misleading people.”
Like Carlson, former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has rebuked Trump over his ongoing efforts and policies.
Regarding Iran, Greene said the president should be removed from office.
“It’s absolute madness,” Greene said. “How can any person that is mentally stable call for an entire civilization of people to be murdered, to be wiped out, to never come back again? That’s what the president called for, and that shows that there’s serious instability in his thinking that he would not only say that in a private room, perhaps with his advisers, but actually go to his megaphone, his Truth Social, and post that for the entire country and the entire world.”
