More than 6 in 10 Americans now say President Donald Trump’s war on Iran was a “mistake,” according to a POLLS on Friday by the Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos.
Within two months, the war — which has killed thousands of civilians and sent gas prices soaring around the world with few tangible gains — has reached levels of unpopularity that previous wars now seen as historical shams took years to achieve.
The Post has asked the “mistake” question when surveying other major wars in the past. However, CNN senior political reporter Aaron Blake is explained“In Iraq, it took more than three years to reach this level Vietnamit took six years.”
Despite a massive protest movementvoters overwhelmingly supported President George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq, with 81% believing it was the “right thing” in April 2003 and only 16% believing it was a mistake.
But the invasion turned into a long, deadly, and costly disaster, and the administration’s pretexts for war were revealed to be lies. Public opinion steadily eroded to the point where 64% considered it a mistake by January 2007.
Vietnam never had the overwhelming support of Iraq, but 60% of Americans still supported President Lyndon Johnson’s decision to go directly the US military inclusion in 1965, while only 24% said it was a mistake.
WHEREAS protest The anti-war movement is as present in the memories of Americans today as the conflict itself, public opinion was still divided by 1968 and reached a peak of 61% in May 1971. after more that 50,000 American soldiers had been killed in battle.
Trump’s war on Iran is unique in history in that it never enjoyed even a moment of consensus support. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll just days after the opening of what The Trump administration called “Operation Epic Fury”, only 27% said they approved the attacks, which killed 555 Iranians, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other senior Iranian officials.
At that point, 43% of Americans already said they disapproved of the attacks, far eclipsing Iraq and Vietnam. But 30% still said they hadn’t made up their mind yet.
In the coming months, they will. it Was FOUND than an air strike on a school, which killed at least 155 people, including 120 the childrenit was a two-touch attack from United States.
Iran retaliated by blocking oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which sent gas prices up in the US hurtling over $4 per gallon.
And Trump took on an increasingly messy situation and at times what many critics called straightforward genocidal attitude towards Iran, which made any peaceful solution seem increasingly unlikely, even at the current moment fragile ceasefire.
Friday’s poll shows that while the war still retains a substantial base of support — 36% of Americans who say it was the right decision, almost all of them Republicans — that base is dwarfed by the 61% who say it was a mistake.
Majorities of respondents across all demographics indicate they believe the war has increased the risk of “terrorism against Americans” (61%), “the US economy going into recession” (60%) and “weakening relations with US allies” (56%).
looking for DOWN The surface shows an even more troubling sign for Trump: War has almost no constituency outside of his biggest fans. Self-identified Democrats (91%) say the war was a mistake. But 71% of independents – many of whom were undecided at the start of the fight – now also disapprove, with just 24% in support.
Even inside GOPthere is a decisive divide: 86% of those who self-identify as “MAGA The RepublicansBut “non-MAGA Republicans” have become uncertain — 50% still say the war was the right decision, while 49% say it was a mistake.
They were particularly shocked by Trump threat Last month that “an entire civilization will die tonight” if Iran fails to negotiate a deal to its liking. The threat was too much even for most Republicans, 53% of whom said they viewed it negatively.
What remains to be seen is whether even Trump’s staunchest supporters will turn against the war as it drags on. If Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appearance in Congress on Thursday is any guide, the country may soon find out.
On Thursday, when the senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) pressed Hegseth on why he “hasn’t sought the support of the American people” and added that “three out of five Americans are against this war today,” appearing in a scathing denial of the war’s unpopularity.
“I believe we have the support of the American people,” he said. “I would remind you and this group that we are two months into an effort and many Democrats in Congress want to declare defeat after two months.”
He specifically mentioned the long conflicts of the past, repeatedly noting that this one had only lasted “two months,” as if to ask for patience with a war that Trump had before. said it was intended to last only “four to five weeks”.
“How many years did it take Iraq? How many years did it take Afghanistan? And those were nebulous missions that people went along with,” he said.
“This is different,” he said of a fight that — depending on the day — has been described as a war of intent regime change in Iran, protecting the protestersdestroying it nuclear program, eliminating it supply of ballistic missiles, taking her oil, defending Israeland reopening Strait of Hormuz, among other objectives.
