A majority of Americans say President Donald Trump’s war with Iran is a “mistake,” a share nearly three times higher than those who said the same about the Iraq War shortly after the 2003 invasion, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll.
The sentiment comes nearly three months into the war, and as Trump’s approval rating has slipped and gas prices are rising, adding to cost-of-living concerns.
What To Know
The poll of 2,560 people found that 61 percent of Americans believe it was a mistake for Trump to start the Iran war.
Republicans largely back Trump’s decision, with 79 percent supporting it; however, support drops among “non-MAGA Republicans,” with 50 percent believing it was the right decision, while 86 percent of MAGA Republicans do.
Democrats overwhelmingly oppose it, with 91 percent saying it was a mistake. Seventy-one percent of independents do as well. The poll was conducted between April 24 and 28, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
The United States and Israel coordinated strikes against Iran on February 28, killing the country’s longest-serving supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Thousands of people have been killed across the region as the war has expanded into Lebanon and nearby Gulf countries. U.S.-based Iranian human rights group HRANA has said 3,636 people have been killed since the war started in late February—1,701 of those were civilians, including at least 254 children.
Compared with past conflicts in the region, the poll shows a sharper initial backlash. In a March 2003 ABC News/Washington Post poll, 26 percent of Americans said the U.S. war in Iraq was a mistake shortly after the invasion. By January 2007, after nearly four years of war, that share had risen to 64 percent.
In a November 2001 Gallup poll, just 9 percent of Americans said sending U.S. troops to Afghanistan was a mistake, the lowest level of public opposition to a military deployment the firm had recorded since the Korean War. Similar Gallup polls taken at the outset of past conflicts found lower levels of opposition, with 20 percent saying the Korean War was a mistake, 24 percent saying the same at the start of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, and 17 percent at the beginning of the Persian Gulf War.
According to the recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, most Americans are concerned about the war’s impact, with 61 percent saying it has increased the risk of terrorism against Americans, 60 percent saying it raises the likelihood of a U.S. recession and 56 percent saying it has weakened relationships with U.S. allies. The war has driven average gas prices over $4 a gallon for weeks, increased airfare due to jet fuel prices, and raised the prices of many imports amid the Strait of Hormuz closure.
The poll finds Americans split on whether the U.S. should make a peace deal, and even if so, nearly two-thirds say they are not confident that any agreement would truly end the war or prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Thirty-nine percent of participants said that U.S. actions in Iran have not been successful, 41 percent say it’s too soon to tell, and only 19 percent believe that it has been successful.
Other Recent Polls Show Similar Results
An April Reuters/Ipsos poll of 1,269 adults found that 34 percent of participants approve of Trump’s military strikes against Iran, while 51 percent do not. The poll was conducted April 24-27 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
A similar Reuters/Ipsos poll in March found that 38 percent of Americans backed the strikes, showing a dip in recent polling.
A recent survey from Big Data Poll found that roughly 40 percent of registered voters approve of the job the president is doing, compared with about 57 percent who disapprove. The net approval of -17 marks Trump’s lowest with the pollster during his second term in the Oval Office.
The poll surveyed 3,176 registered voters and 2,874 likely voters across the country from April 25 to April 28, with a 1.8 percent margin of error for registered voters and 1.7 percent for likely voters.
Related Articles
