President Donald Trump’s net approval rating on his handling of the Israel-Hamas war surged after his peace deal secured a ceasefire and the release of hostages, according to a poll released Friday.
“Following the Gaza ceasefire deal, 47% of voters approve of Trump’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas, while 34% disapprove,” Emerson College Polling reported. “Public opinion has flipped since the Emerson 100-day poll [in April], when 30% approved and 46% disapproved of the president’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas.”
Republican voters overwhelmingly support Trump’s handling of the conflict, 80 percent to 7 percent, while Democrats disapprove by a 57-to-19 margin, according to Emerson Polling executive director Spencer Kimball. “The shift in overall approval comes from independents, who approve 43% to 38%; in April, independents disapproved 43% to 25%.”
Trump’s peace deal last week brought a ceasefire in the two-year war that began with Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel. The terror group has released all 20 living Israeli hostages but failed to make good on its promise to return the bodies of all 28 dead hostages. Israel, which has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, responded to the hold-up by keeping a Gaza border crossing closed and restricting aid until Hamas returns all dead hostages.
Trump on Thursday threatened Hamas with military intervention if the terror group refuses to stop executing people in Gaza. 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 president also warned on Tuesday that he could disarm Hamas by force. In remarks at the White House, Trump made clear that Hamas “will disarm, or we will disarm them,” saying that forced disarmament will “happen quickly, and perhaps violently.”
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