A majority of Americans oppose President Donald Trump’s military strikes against Iran and believe the ongoing regional war benefits Israel more than the United States, according to a new poll conducted by Data for Progress and released by the IMEU Policy Project and Demand Progress.
The survey of 1,215 likely voters found that 53 percent disapprove of Trump’s strikes on Iran, while 43 percent approve, placing public support below the initial approval levels seen at the start of most recent U.S. military interventions.
Asked which country they believe a war with Iran would benefit more, Israel or the United States, a majority of respondents—56 percent, say that it serves Israel more—compared with just 29 percent who said the war benefits the United States more.
The perception, nearly 2:1 among all voters, that the U.S. is fighting a war for Israel follow comments from government officials like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who explained to the press on March 2 that the U.S. went to war with Iran because “we knew that there was going to be an Israeli action,” which “we knew…would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.”
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The survey also found that a narrow majority of respondents backed congressional efforts to curb the administration’s military actions. Fifty-one percent said Congress should pass a War Powers resolution limiting Trump’s actions against Iran, while 44 percent opposed such a measure. The Senate on March 4 voted against a War Powers resolution, with the measure failing 47–53 while a similar resolution introduced by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) in the House failed in a 212–219 vote the following day.
The survey also documented the widening generational split inside the Republican base over U.S. support for Israel. In a hypothetical Republican primary, 68 percent of Republicans under 45 said they would prefer a candidate who would reduce U.S. support for Israel, while 56 percent of Republicans over 45 said they would favor a candidate who prioritizes support for Israel.
Particularly ominous for Republicans, 35 percent of voters—including 42 percent of independents—said Trump’s strikes on Iran make them “much less likely” to vote Republican, while only 27 percent said the war would not affect their vote.
