President Donald Trump’s approval rating on his handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict has now surged following his administration’s successful negotiation of a Gaza ceasefire and the release of hostages, marking a significant shift in public sentiment toward the president’s foreign policy.
According to a new poll released Friday by Emerson College, 47 percent of voters now approve of Trump’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas, while 34 percent disapprove. The figures represent a dramatic reversal from April’s Emerson 100-day poll, when just 30 percent approved and 46 percent disapproved of his approach to the conflict.
Emerson Polling executive director Spencer Kimball said the turnaround was driven largely by independent voters, who have shifted from opposing Trump’s handling of the war to supporting it. “The shift in overall approval comes from independents, who approve 43 percent to 38 percent; in April, independents disapproved 43 percent to 25 percent,” Kimball said.
Support for Trump’s Middle East strategy remains deeply partisan. Republican voters back the president overwhelmingly, 80 percent to 7 percent, while Democrats continue to oppose him by a margin of 57 percent to 19 percent.
Trump’s peace deal, announced last week, brought an end to a brutal two-year war that began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.
The agreement secured a ceasefire and led to the release of all 20 living Israeli hostages held in Gaza. However, Hamas has yet to fulfill its pledge to return the bodies of all 28 Israelis killed and held by the group.
In response to Hamas’s failure to comply fully with the agreement, Israel has kept one of its border crossings with Gaza closed and is restricting humanitarian aid until the terror group returns the remaining bodies. Nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees have been released under the terms of the ceasefire deal.
Trump has taken a firm stance in recent days against Hamas’s continued acts of brutality. The president warned Thursday that the United States could intervene militarily if the group continues executing Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel.
“Hamas terrorists—seeking to retain power with a ceasefire in effect—have stormed through the streets of Gaza executing dozens of Palestinians who they claim collaborated with Israel,” the administration said in a statement describing the deteriorating security situation.
Trump has also suggested that his patience with the terror group is wearing thin. Speaking Tuesday at the White House, he said Hamas “will disarm, or we will disarm them,” warning that forced disarmament “will happen quickly, and perhaps violently.”
The ceasefire represents one of the most consequential diplomatic achievements of Trump’s second term, reinforcing his administration’s emphasis on strength and negotiation over prolonged conflict. The sharp rise in approval underscores how voters, particularly independents, have responded to the president’s assertive approach to ending the war and confronting terrorist violence directly.
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