US support for Iran war slips as many say Trump’s aims are unclear

WASHINGTON: Only about one in three Americans support the war with Iran, while a large majority say President Donald Trump has not clearly explained why the United States is fighting, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

The survey, conducted from Friday to Sunday, showed support for the conflict at 37%. It also found that 69% of respondents — including four in 10 Republicans — believe Trump has not “clearly explained the goals of US military involvement in Iran.”

Trump has offered varying reasons for the war, including helping Iranians overthrow their leaders, destroying Iran’s ballistic missile capability and stopping Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon. White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said Trump would not make decisions based on “fluid opinion polls” and said the president remained determined to prevent Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon. She said, “What matters most to the American people is having a commander in chief who takes bold action to keep them safe.”

Although backing for the war remains below 40%, Trump’s overall approval rating rose to 37%, up three points from last month, when it matched the lowest level of his presidency.

Political and economic strain

The conflict is emerging as a political burden for Trump and the Republican Party ahead of the November midterm elections, when the president’s allies will defend narrow majorities in Congress.

The poll found independent registered voters preferred the Democratic congressional candidate over the Republican by 36% to 20%. Independents also favored Democrats over Republicans on economic policy.

Rising fuel costs are adding to that pressure. Nationwide gasoline prices are now averaging just over $4 a gallon, compared with about $3 a gallon before the war began on February 28.

Alex Conant, a Republican strategist and a former White House spokesman under George W. Bush, said, “This puts pressure on the party in a myriad of ways, all of them bad.” He added, “The White House officials have been saying since January that they need to win economic arguments. It’s hard to win the economic arguments when you’re clearly focused on foreign policy.”

Voters voice doubts

Some voters interviewed alongside the poll said they were unconvinced by the war and wanted Trump to focus more on domestic problems.

Alex Womack, a retired turbine repair specialist from Stockbridge, Georgia, said, “It’s not clear why we started a war with them. I have no idea.” Womack, a Marine Corps veteran of the 1991 Gulf War, said his backing for Trump had weakened and added, “I don’t think he’s doing very well, personally.”

Rhyan Anderson, an independent voter from Fairburn, Georgia, who backed Trump in 2024 after voting for Joe Biden in 2020, said, “My biggest thing is just focus on the people who are actually in the country.” He added, “I know we have allies and things like that, but there’s a lot of people here that really need help.”

Trump had campaigned in 2024 on keeping the United States out of long-running wars and initially estimated that the Iran conflict would last four to five weeks.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey of 1,246 US adults was conducted online nationwide and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. Since mid-March, the poll has asked respondents whether they support or oppose military strikes on Iran. Support stood at 37% at that time, after measuring 27% on the day the war began, when respondents were also given an option to say they were unsure, chosen by 29%.

So far, 18 American soldiers have died in the conflict, while thousands have been killed in Iran and Lebanon, where Iran-aligned fighters have been battling Israeli forces.