Many things divide Americans these days but one thing has united most of them, according to a new survey.
The poll, from the Associated Press and NORC, indicates that, while President Trump has been successful on many fronts, his decision to start a conflict with Iran is a loser.
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A new survey found that 64% of Americans believe the conflict with Iran is not worth fighting, while support for Trump’s handling of the situation has declined, including among Republicans.
According to the poll, Republican approval of Trump’s Iran policy fell by 10 percentage points over the previous month.
The survey was conducted July 23–27 among 1,165 U.S. adults during the final days of a 13-night U.S. military campaign against Iran.
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By the time interviewing concluded on July 27, military operations had paused.
Fighting resumed the following day, after the survey had closed, meaning public opinion may have shifted further as the conflict continued.
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The survey found that just 23% of U.S. adults support continuing military operations against Iran. Support was particularly low among Democrats, with only 4% favoring continued military action.
Independents also expressed limited support. Among Republicans, fewer than half—48%—said they favored continuing the campaign.
The poll has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. The margin of error is 6.0 percentage points for Republican respondents and 5.4 percentage points for Democrats.
One of the survey’s most notable findings was the decline in Republican approval of President Donald Trump’s handling of the Iran conflict.
According to the AP-NORC poll, Republican approval fell from 71% in June to 61% by late July, a 10-point decrease over the course of a month.
The poll also found that Democratic approval of President Donald Trump’s handling of the Iran conflict fell from 8% in June to 4% in late July. Among independents, approval declined from 22% to 17% over the same period.
Across all three major partisan groups, support moved downward.
Trump’s overall job approval rating also slipped, falling from 37% in June to 33% in July, according to the survey, suggesting that public attitudes toward the Iran conflict may have coincided with a broader decline in his overall approval rating.
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The survey’s findings come as debate over U.S. policy toward Iran has also emerged on Capitol Hill.
Last month, four Republican senators joined Democrats in supporting an Iran war powers resolution, highlighting divisions within Congress over the administration’s military strategy.
One of the poll’s more notable findings was that 37% of Republicans said the conflict with Iran was “not worth fighting.”
Among Democrats, 87% expressed that view, while 68% of independents said the same.
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The divisions reflected in the survey have also been evident in Congress.
The House recently approved a second Iran war powers resolution with support from some Republican lawmakers, while the Senate has considered bipartisan efforts to limit or clarify the administration’s authority to continue military operations against Iran.
The administration is not backing down. White House Assistant Press Secretary Olivia Wales told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the president’s priority is security, not polling.
“What matters most to the American people is having a Commander in Chief who takes bold action to keep them safe, which is exactly what President Trump is doing,” Wales said, per the outlet.
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“Americans are already safer for the United States’ bold actions to deny the Iranian regime the ability to develop a nuclear weapon, and the President will not stand by as Iran kills our soldiers, fires at ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and breaks the MOU [memorandum of understanding],” she added.
The reference to a memorandum of understanding suggests the administration views Iran as having violated a prior diplomatic agreement, though Wales did not elaborate on the specific terms or timeline of that breach.
Thus far, 18 American military personnel have been killed during the Iran conflict.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
