Hope Rasa | Department of Journalism | Western Washington University | JOUR 480: Senior Seminar | Dr. Sheila Webb | June 2, 2026
Introduction
The Iran war essentially began on February 28, 2026, when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes across the country. As the war drags on, President Donald Trump’s declining voter approval ratings receive persistent news coverage. This coverage rarely shies away from acknowledging the fact that Trump’s voter approval ratings are in dire straits.
Coverage of Trump’s falling voter approval ratings in response to the Iran war started to trickle in around late March, 2026, once some Americans started to absorb the economic impacts of the conflict. This frame analysis looked at how The Guardian, The New York Times, AP News, and The Washington Post covered Trump’s voter approval ratings from late March to late May, 2026.
Given the state of Trump’s approval ratings and the many, many attributable causes lying around, I found it interesting to examine which of those causes news coverage emphasized. I also found it worthwhile to look at what words news coverage used to describe Trump’s approval ratings. According to Entman (1993)’s framing theory, these words can help to manifest frames within a text (p. 52). This is part of Entman’s version of framing theory.
Trump’s increasingly pessimistic approval ratings don’t bode well for him or his party as the midterm elections inch closer. Widespread discontent with Trump may spur a blue wave, giving Democrats the House and maybe even the Senate. This would significantly handicap Trump’s power for the remainder of his presidency. It’s important to analyze how news outlets frame their reporting on Trump’s falling approval ratings, considering they may cost his party the midterms.
Background: Iran War
Characterized by bipolar decision-making and murky ceasefires, Trump initiated attacks on Iran in part to overthrow the country’s theocratic leadership (Ahn & Chutel, 2026, paras. 3-4). Trump has also justified this war with familiar claims that Iran was or is close to developing nuclear weapons.
On Feb. 28, 2026, the first day of the war, the U.S. struck a girl’s school, killing at least 175 children (Ahn & Chutel, 2026, para. 5). That day, U.S.-Israel attacks also killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s then supreme leader of 37 years, as well as several other high-ranking Iranian military and intelligence officials (Ahn & Chutel, para. 4). These initial attacks on Iran have since expanded into a vast regional conflict resulting in thousands of deaths, mostly in Iran and Lebanon.
The U.S. isn’t officially at war with Iran because only Congress has the power to declare war, which it hasn’t (Ahn & Chutel, 2026, para. 30). However, the Associated Press now refers to the fighting between Iran, the U.S. and Israel as the “Iran war,” due to the scope and intensity of the conflict (The Associated Press, 2026, paras. 1-2). Given the AP’s guidelines, I will use the term “Iran war” throughout my project.
"People mourn over the flag-draped coffin of a member of the Basij, a group of paramilitary volunteers loyal to the Islamic Republic, who was killed in an Israeli attack, during his funeral in Tehran on Thursday," CNN. Photo: Valhid Salemi/AP.
"A photo of a child is seen in the rubble of a damaged building in Tehran on Wednesday, June 25," CNN. Photo: Valhid Salemi/AP.
Background: The Economy and Trump's Voter Approval Ratings
The Iran war has sent shock waves through the global economy. Most notably, oil prices have surged since the war started, causing a 50% national increase in gas prices (Murphy et al., 2026, para. 1). Surging oil and gas prices will, eventually, cause almost everything to become more expensive (Bussewitz, 2026, para. 18). The longer the Iran war lasts, the more significant the burden on consumers will be. As the effects of the Iran war continue to set in – and worsen– voter approval polls are becoming increasingly reflective of Americans’ growing discontent with Trump’s handling of the conflict.
Most Americans oppose the Iran war (Sanders & Catalini, 2026, para. 1). As support for the Iran war decreases and concerns over its economic effects grow, both will likely continue to impact Trump’s voter approval ratings. Considering how unpopular the Iran war was to begin with, Trump is running on a very low tank of gas in terms of voter approval as it continues.
"May 27 gas prices at Mobil, 7450 W Boynton Beach Blvd." Yahoo. Photo: Antonio Fins/Yahoo.