A CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday surveyed 2,387 Americans on their sentiments toward Trump’s Iran war, and the findings were, by any reasonable measure, a comprehensive rebuke of the administration’s handling of the conflict.
The poll found that 68% of Americans are worried about the war, 57% are stressed, and 54% are angry about it. By comparison, only 32% feel safe or confident, and a mere 29% feel proud of the United States’ role in it. The war has been running for six weeks. The emotional trajectory is not improving, and neither is the president’s reading material.
64% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of Iran, while only 36% approve. 59% say the conflict is going badly for the U.S., and 62% say Trump does not have a clear plan. Two-thirds say the administration has failed to clearly articulate its goals, while 64% say whatever objectives have been stated keep shifting. The word “strategy” is being used generously here.
The gap between what Americans expect from the war and what they are actually getting is considerable.
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The top priorities identified were reopening the Strait of Hormuz, ensuring Iran’s people are safe and free, halting Iran’s nuclear program and preventing further regional aggression. 57% said the U.S. has not yet reopened the strait, 58% said Iran’s people have not been freed, and 49% said Iran’s nuclear program has not been permanently stopped. Americans named the objectives, assessed the outcomes and found the scorecard largely empty.
The administration, for its part, has declared victory several times anyway. The economic consequences are registering with equal force.
51% of Americans said rising gas prices from the war have constituted a genuine financial hardship, and 63% believe the U.S. economy under Trump’s second term is performing badly. Gas prices were already a source of significant anxiety before the conflict began. Six weeks of a closed Strait of Hormuz have done nothing to ease that pressure.
Trump’s Truth Social post warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight” was seen by a large majority of Americans, and most disliked it. Even non-MAGA Republicans disliked it more than they liked it. The post appears to have landed rather differently outside the confines of Mar-a-Lago than it did within them.
Trump’s approval has quietly dropped to its lowest point of the second term, with his economic numbers matching the mood. The base is holding, as bases do, but the persuadable voters who crossed over in 2024 are beginning to notice that their gas bill did not get the “America is Back” memo.
A separate Economist/YouGov poll found that 53% of Americans oppose the war outright, including 84% of Democrats and a majority of independents.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
