Only a quarter of Americans support an attack on Iran, according to poll | Donald Trump news

The poll, conducted just hours after the United States and Israel launched a major military operation against Iran, sparked regional retaliation, showing disappointing approval of the strikes by the US public.

A Reuters Ipsos poll began on Saturday and concluded on Sunday, before President Donald Trump’s administration announced that the first US troops had been killed in the conflict. Only one in four approve of the US-Israeli attack.

The early findings could have a significant impact on how the Trump administration moves forward in the near future and how lawmakers respond to the attacks, especially as they face a punishing midterm election period.

Trump vowed on Sunday to continue what he described as a “mission of righteousness” until “all objectives are accomplished.” “There will be more before it’s over,” Trump said, referring to the three members of the U.S. military who were announced killed Sunday.

After a US-Israeli strike killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Trump once again framed Iran as an existential threat to the US, claiming the country’s leaders had “committed a war against civilization itself”.

A Reuters-Ipsos poll suggested the US public did not share that view, with 43 percent of respondents disapproving of war and another 29 percent saying they were unsure.

Approval is strong, but not overwhelming, among Republicans, with 55 percent saying they approve of the strikes, 13 percent disapprove and 32 percent unsure.

Perhaps most notably, about 42 percent of Republicans said they would be less likely to support the operation if “US troops are killed or injured in the Middle East.”

About 74 percent of Democrats disapproved of the strike, 7 percent approved and 19 percent were unsure.

Midterms loom

A poll released on Sunday showed Republican lawmakers largely united around Trump’s message on Iran, with its antagonism to Trump’s campaign risking alienating his Make America Great Again (MAGA) base.

Trump ran on a pledge to end “endless wars” and halt US intervention abroad in an “America First” pivot.

While Trump has shown a unique ability to shape the opinions of his loyal supporters in his likeness, some conservative commentators warn that he is playing with fire.

“If this war is a quick, easy and decisive victory, most of them will win it,” Blake Neff, former producer of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, wrote on Saturday X.

“But if the war was anything else, there would be a lot of anger.”

“Success can override bad explanations. So we should pray for success,” he said.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, said confirmation that US soldiers had been killed “brings home the cost of war”.

“Americans, by a very large margin, do not want to get caught up in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East,” he said in a television interview. “The fact that Americans have suddenly died shows that this is not just a video game from an American perspective.”

At least 201 people were killed in Iran, nine in Israel, two in Iraq, three in the United Arab Emirates and one in Kuwait, excluding three US military personnel.

Meanwhile, respondents to a Reuters-Ipsos poll, including 34 percent of Republicans and 44 percent of independents, said they would be less likely to support a campaign against Iran if gas or oil prices in the US rose.

The conflict has threatened arterial trade routes, with several companies suspending shipments in the region.

Democrats are also closely monitoring public sentiment on the war, which will surely hang over the midterm election campaign season in November.

The party has made affordability a key issue, with incumbents and upstart challengers portraying Trump’s military exploits, including the US kidnapping of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, as out of touch with his message.

Elected Democrats, meanwhile, have offered a range of reactions to the U.S. operation against Iran, with at least one Democratic senator praising Trump’s strikes. Others celebrated Khamenei’s killing, but remained more circumspect about Trump’s justification for the attacks, while others were more forthright in condemning the strikes.

Several Democrats said Sunday’s killing of the U.S. soldiers underscored the urgency of passing a war powers resolution, which requires approval by Congress before taking further military action.

“I am thinking of the brave American soldiers killed today,” Senator Chris Van Hollen, a sponsor of the resolution, posted on Sunday X. “He should still be with us.”

“Trump has said he will keep us out of war. This is his war of choice.”

A vote on the resolution is expected early this week.