If early polling is any indication, the White House's reasoning isn't resonating with Americans.
Case in point: Nearly six in ten Americans disapproved of the decision to take military action in Iran, according to a Feb. 28 to March 1 CNN poll conducted by SSRS of 1,004 U.S. adults. Forty-one percent said they approved.
Six in ten also said they don't think Trump has a clear plan for handling the situation, and 39% said the U.S. did not put in enough diplomatic effort before using military force.There is a sharp partisan divide: While 82% of Democrats and 68% of Independents or others strongly or somewhat disapproved, just 23% of Republicans shared that sentiment.
Zoom out: That party divide is shown across numerous polls which repeatedly depict a wary public, though significant shares of Republicans said they approve the strikes.
A Monday YouGov
survey of more than 1,600 U.S. adults found that nearly half (48%) strongly or somewhat disapproved of the attack, including the vast majority of Democrats (78%) and Independents (55%). Republicans overwhelmingly approved (76%). 43% of Americans disapproved the strikes in a Reuters-Ipsos
poll released Sunday of more than 1,200 U.S. adults, though more than half of Republicans (55%) approve. Notably, 31% of Republicans polled said they weren't sure if they approved or not. Fox News
polling found a more even split, with half of voters saying they approved of the strikes. A vast majority of the GOP agreed (84%), compared to 20% of Democrats and 40% of Independents.
Still, the strikes put Trump on a collision course with influential MAGA world voices who oppose the war but are more out of step with the president's base than he is.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement provided to Axios that "President Trump makes decisions based on what's in the best interest of the United States and the American people."She continued, "Right now, the White House's main priority is working alongside the Pentagon and the interagencies to ensure the continued and ultimate success of the operation."
The bottom line: The administration is striking a victorious tone. But the public appears cautious of a conflict Trump warned would "likely" take more American lives.
Methodology: The margin of error for the March 2 YouGov survey is approximately 3%. The CNN study was conducted Feb. 28-March 1 with a margin of error of ±3.9. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted Feb. 28 – March 1 by Ipsos with a margin of error of ± 2.8 points. The Fox News survey was conducted Feb. 28-March 2 and includes interviews with a sample of 1,004 registered voters with a margin of error of ±3 percentage points.
Go deeper: Americans fear Iran but question Trump's judgment: poll
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