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Trump’s approval falls amid his saber-rattling against Iran: Poll

The majority of Americans continue to disapprove of the job US President Donald Trump is doing in office amid his increasing saber-rattling against Iran, according to a new survey.


According to the latest Gallup poll, Trump’s job approval rating stands at 42 percent, four percentage points below his prior rating from April when 46 percent approved.

Trump’s latest approval rating remains slightly better than the 35 percent lows seen several times during his first year in office.

Trump’s 46 percent job approval rating in late April was largely due to positive economic news and the release of Special Counsel Mueller’s report about the investigation into alleged collusion between Trump’s election campaign and Russia.

A CNN poll released earlier in May found that 42 percent of Americans approve of how Trump is handling foreign affairs.

Trump’s persistent low approval ratings come as his foreign policy challenges are mounting around the world, particularly the rising tensions with Iran, Venezuela and North Korea.

Trump’s growing foreign policy problems also highlight the limits of his self-proclaimed ability to make a deal and perhaps the difficulty of focusing primarily on domestic concerns for his so-called “America first” policy.

Trump’s foreign foes have labeled him an unreliable force, while allies say he has followed through on a promise to disrupt foreign policy norms.

PressTV-Zarif to Trump: Never threaten an Iranian, try respect

Zarif to Trump: Never threaten an Iranian, try respectIran’s foreign minister tells the US president to avoid threatening an Iranian and instead try respect as it will work.

With Iran, Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal that the administration of former US President Barack Obama had negotiated along with five other world powers, and he recently increased tensions with Tehran by deploying military forces to the Persian Gulf.

On May 5, US National Security Advisor John Bolton — an ardent Iran hawk — said the US military deployment was in response to a “troubling and escalatory indications” of Iranian activity in the region, without giving details or evidence to support the claims.

Cliff Kupchan, chairman of Eurasia Group, described China and Iran as the two most pressing issues for the US. But he noted that Trump’s moves are not unexpected.

“With China and Iran we’re seeing a strategically very predictable president play out his hand,” he said.

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