A poll conducted hours after the United States and Israel launched a major military operation against Iran, sparking regional retaliation, shows dire support for the attack among the American public.
The Reuters-Ipsos poll began on Saturday and ended on Sunday, before President Donald Trump’s administration announced the first U.S. service member was killed in the conflict. Only one in four respondents supported attacks by the United States and Israel.
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The early findings could have a significant impact on how the Trump administration moves forward and how lawmakers respond to the attacks, especially as they look ahead to a tough midterm election season.
President Trump on Sunday pledged to continue what he called his “mission of justice” until “all goals are accomplished.” “There will likely be many more killed before this is over,” Trump said, referring to the three U.S. military personnel announced to have been killed on Sunday.
After a U.S.-Israeli attack killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Trump once again cast Iran as an existential threat to the United States, claiming that the country’s leaders “have waged war against civilization itself.”
The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 43% of respondents said they did not support war, and another 29% said they were unsure, suggesting that the American public does not share that view.
Although support among Republicans was strong, the response was not overwhelming: 55% supported a strike, 13% disapproved, and 32% were unsure.
Perhaps most importantly, about 42 percent of Republicans said they would be less likely to support the operation if it would “cause casualties to U.S. soldiers in the Middle East.”
About 74% of Democrats disapproved of the strike, while 7% supported it and 19% disapproved.
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The poll released Sunday comes as Republican lawmakers remain largely united around President Trump’s message on Iran, even as contradictions in his campaign promises risk alienating his Make America Great Again (MAGA) base.
Trump ran on a pledge to end “endless wars” and end U.S. intervention abroad on the axis of “America First.”
Mr. Trump has shown a unique ability to shape the opinions of his most ardent supporters in his own image, but some conservative commentators have warned that he is playing with fire.
“If this war was a quick, easy, decisive victory, most of them would get over it,” Blake Neff, a former producer of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, wrote in Saturday’s X.
“But if war meant something else, there would be a lot of anger.”
He added: “Success could overturn bad explanations, so we must pray for success.”
Doug Bandow, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, said in an interview with Al Jazeera that the confirmed killings of American soldiers “bring home the cost of war.”
“Americans absolutely do not want to be drawn into the ongoing conflict in the Middle East,” he said in a television interview. “The fact that Americans suddenly died shows that this is not just a video game from an American perspective.”
In addition to the three U.S. military personnel killed, at least 201 people were killed in Iran, nine in Israel, two in Iraq, three in the United Arab Emirates, and one in Kuwait.
Meanwhile, 45% of respondents to the Reuters-Ipsos poll, including 34% of Republicans and 44% of independents, said they would be less likely to support the movement against Iran if gas and oil prices rose in the United States.
The conflict has threatened major trade routes and several companies have stopped shipping in the region.
Democrats will also be closely monitoring public opinion on the war, which is sure to have an impact during the campaign period leading up to November’s midterm elections.
The party has made affordability a key issue, and incumbents and emerging challengers alike have criticized Trump’s military adventurism, including the U.S. abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, saying they are out of step with his message.
Meanwhile, Democratic elected officials have had mixed reactions to the U.S. campaign against Iran, with at least one Democratic senator praising President Trump’s attack. While some praised Khamenei’s killing, they were more circumspect about Trump’s justification for the attack, while others openly condemned it.
Several Democratic lawmakers said Sunday that the killing of the U.S. soldier underscored the urgency of passing the War Powers Resolution, which must be approved by Congress before any further military action can be taken.
“My thoughts are with the brave American soldiers killed today,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a sponsor of the resolution, posted on Sunday’s X. “They should still be with us.”
“President Trump said he would keep us out of war. This is the war he chose.”
A vote on the resolution is expected to take place early this week.
