Trump's approval rating has stalled, new poll shows. Here's why

President Donald Trump's approval rating remains at its lowest level since he returned to the White House, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, as the country faces a potential escalation of the Iran war.

The survey, released on April 21, showed that 36% of Americans approve of Trump's job performance. Voters gave the president a similar rating in a Reuters poll released on March 23. But the president's job approval is still down four points from a Reuters poll taken earlier last month, with many Americans continuing to cite rising food and gas prices as reasons for their disapproval.

The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll of 4,557 Americans is consistent with similar polls showing Trump's approval ratings hovering around 40% as the Iran war approaches the two-month mark. Thirty-six percent of Americans support the war, the new poll said, slightly higher than the 35% from a previous Reuters survey released earlier this month.

Trump's temperament comes into question in new poll

Amid several profane social media posts, including threats to Iran that "a whole civilization will die" and clashes withPope Leo XIV, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll asked about the 79-year-old president's temperament and mental sharpness.

The poll found that 71% of respondents said Trump isn't "even-tempered," while 26% said they do consider the president even-tempered in office.

However, Republican voters were more divided on the question. Around 53% of Republicans polled consider the president even-tempered, while 46% of GOP supporters say Trump isn't. A handful of respondents declined to answer that question, pollsters noted.

Meanwhile, about 92% of Democratic voters polled said Trump is not even-tempered, compared to 7% of Dems who said they see Trump that way.

And, nearly three-quarters of independent voters say Trump isn't even-tempered compared to 18% who disagreed, according to the poll.

Regarding Pope Leo, Americans think more highly of the pontiff than the president, the survey said. About 60% said they had a favorable view of the pope, compared to 36% for Trump.

But the Chicago-born pope doesn't just outrank the president. Respondents also viewed the pope more favorably than they did prominent Democrats, including Trump rivals California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris.

President's mental sharpness also varies among Americans, poll shows

The poll also found that about 51% of Americans believe Trump's mental sharpness has worsened, while 40% think it has stayed the same. Another 6% polled say the president's mental sharpness has gotten better.

By political party, about 14% of Republicans, 85% of Democrats and 54% of independents think Trump's mental sharpness has declined. Nearly two-thirds of Republicans said the president's mental sharpness is the same, compared with 12% of Democrats and 35% of independents

About 13% of Republicans, 2% of Democrats and 4% of independents believe his mental fitness has improved.

The poll was conducted between April 15 and 20, and the margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.