American public support for the Trump administration’s war with Iran has fallen to its lowest level since the early days of the conflict, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published Monday. The war’s fallout is also helping keep President Donald Trump’s approval rating pinned near record lows.
The four-day poll found that just 31% of Americans support the Trump administration’s military action against Iran, down from 37% in a March Reuters/Ipsos poll and 34% earlier this month. The decline was driven by falling support for the war among people who identify as Republicans.
Around 69% of Republicans support the war, down from 77% in March.
The Iran war is weighing on Trump’s approval rating this year. For a second consecutive poll, just 33% of respondents said they approve of the Republican president’s handling of his job in the White House — the lowest reading in any Reuters/Ipsos poll during either of Trump’s terms.
Trump has told Americans that the war, which began with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, was necessary to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Although the conflict has eased somewhat in recent months, Iran has maintained what amounts to a blockade on oil exports from the region, pushing US gasoline prices close to record highs.
Trump has vowed to increase economic pressure on Iran. His Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, announced Monday the possibility of expanding sanctions against countries doing business with Iran, but stopped short of actually imposing any penalties — a sign, the poll suggests, of just how complicated the conflict has become for the administration.
Fears of a long war
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll found that roughly 83% of Americans fear the war will drag on “for a long time.” That figure stood at 80% earlier this month.
Trump campaigned ahead of the 2024 presidential election on promises to control inflation and avoid prolonged military conflicts. Six months into the war with Iran, US gasoline prices have risen by more than $1 a gallon compared with before the war began.
The situation has become a major concern for Trump’s Republican Party, particularly for its candidates contesting the November 3 midterm elections in an effort to preserve the party’s narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress.
Asked how they would vote in a congressional election held today, independent voters surveyed favored Democrats over Republicans by a wide margin, 33% to 19%.
The poll surveyed 1,215 American adults nationwide, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report