Rising gasoline and grocery bills are eroding support for President Donald Trump in rural parts of the United States, according to a June 3-8 Reuters/Ipsos online poll. The survey shows approval for Trump among rural respondents has slid to 50% from 60% in February 2025, while rural disapproval rose to 48% from 34% over the same interval.
Those figures come from a nationwide online poll of 4,531 U.S. adults, which reported a margin of error of 3 percentage points for rural respondents and 2 points for the national sample. The drop in rural approval is notable because rural communities were a strong base of support for Trump in recent elections: an exit-poll analysis cited in the polling data shows Trump won rural voters by 40 points in 2024, up from 31 points in 2020 and 25 points in 2016.
Individual voters described the direct impact of higher energy and food costs. Brian Rauch, 42, an Air Force veteran who lives in Stevensville, Montana, said longer drives to medical appointments and rising grocery bills have altered his view of the president he backed in the last three presidential elections. Rauch also cited concerns about U.S.-Israeli policy toward Iran, saying he sees "little rationale for the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran."
"We’re in bigger water fights with AI, we’re all paying more for groceries and we’re all paying more for gas," Rauch said. "My day to day is negatively impacted and I haven’t seen these other benefits."
Rauch works at a nonprofit assisting military veterans transitioning to civilian life. He said he has long supported Trump but that the president's conduct in this term and the local expansion of data centers in Montana - which Rauch fears could strain access to water - are contributing to his dissatisfaction.
The survey also captured similar frustrations elsewhere. Bryan Shaver, 62, an insurance agent in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, who voted for Trump in 2024 and has a history of Republican Party involvement, said persistently high food prices have left him worried about the party's prospects. "I have a feeling we’re going to be in big trouble in November," Shaver said, citing concern that elevated prices will hurt Republican performance in the midterms.
Polling data attribute the downward shift in rural backing chiefly to disapproval of the president's management of the cost of living and the economy. Only 31% of rural respondents said they approve of Trump's handling of those issues, while 61% disapproved. By comparison, in February 2025 about 45% of rural respondents approved of his handling of cost-of-living matters and 43% disapproved.
The poll highlights how structural differences in travel and work patterns can amplify the effects of higher fuel prices on rural populations. Federal data cited in the polling information show rural residents drive more on average than urban residents, traveling about 30 miles daily in a vehicle compared to 17 miles for urban residents, according to 2022 data from the Department of Transportation's National Household Travel Survey, which the polling information describes as the most recent available.
Other economic pressures affecting rural communities referenced in the poll include a difficult year for farmers. The survey notes rising fertilizer costs, which the polling information says were aggravated by the Iran war, combined with low crop prices and reduced exports tied to Trump-era trade policies, have strained agricultural economics. Diesel prices have reached all-time highs in several states, the polling information reports, squeezing already thin margins for farmers and prompting some fishermen to keep boats docked rather than incur much higher fuel bills.
Nationally, the Reuters/Ipsos poll found Trump's overall approval at 35%, a level the polling information characterized as near the lowest of his political career. The polling summary also indicated that most Americans fear a continued rise in gas prices fueled by the Iran war.
Analysts and political strategists watch rural sentiment closely because of its historic weight in Republican performance in statewide and national contests. The polling information notes the potential political implications for the Republican Party as it defends slim majorities in Congress in November's midterm elections, given the erosion of a previously reliable rural base.
While the polling data link higher costs and sectoral pressures to changing political attitudes in rural America, respondents also raised local concerns that go beyond immediate pocketbook issues, including water access amid rapid data center growth in parts of Montana and unease about international policy decisions. Those combined economic and local pressures, as reflected in the poll, are reshaping support patterns among a demographic cohort that had strongly backed Trump across recent election cycles.
Because the survey was conducted online, its authors note the defined margins of error and sampling parameters for rural respondents and for the overall sample. Where respondents detailed personal effects - from longer daily drives to tighter margins for farmers and fishermen - the polling information conveys a picture of cost and local-resource pressures translating into political discontent.