Americans largely view Iran war as unwarranted, Trump’s handling approval slips

A poll conducted July 23-27 by the Associated Press-NORC Center shows that about 66% of American adults believe the war with Iran, which began on Feb. 28, has not been worthwhile. The sentiment spans most Democrats and independents and roughly 37% of Republicans.

Overall approval of President Donald Trump’s handling of the Iran conflict dropped to 28%, down from 34% the previous month. Among Republicans, approval fell to 61% from 71% in June, a decline that exceeds the survey’s margin of error for that group.

The poll also reveals limited public appetite for continued military action. Only 20% of adults favor persisting with the war, while roughly 30% prefer a pause for cease-fire negotiations and another 20% want a complete halt. About half of Republicans support continuing the fight, especially those identifying as very conservative or aligned with the MAGA movement.

Economic concerns rank high, with 72% of respondents saying it is extremely or very important to keep domestic oil and gas prices from rising. At the same time, 70% consider a permanent cease-fire with Iran a top priority, and 80% of Republicans view preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon as very important.

"I don’t have any trust in this administration at all and to why they brought us into this war, why they’re putting our soldiers at risk again," said Robert McClary, a Republican voter from Ohio.

"Let’s face it, not everybody’s going to be happy with him. I just wish I’d have had more transparency about why things were going on the way they were," said Ryan Sloan, a Republican from Florida.

The survey, based on 1,165 adults from NORC’s AmeriSpeak panel, carries a margin of error of ±3.7 points for the overall adult population.