Poll: Over Half of Americans Are Not Buying the Iran Deal

The Obama Administration’s efforts to sell the Iran nuclear deal to the American public aren’t going over so well, according to a new poll that suggests slightly more than half of all Americans want Congress to reject it.

According to the CNN/ORC poll released Tuesday, 52% of Americans want Congress to vote against the nuclear deal with Iran, while 44% say lawmakers should approve it. Two-thirds (66%) of Republicans called for the deal to be blocked, while 61% of Democrats said it should be approved. Among self-described Independents, 55% want Congress to vote it down.

While the CNN poll could signal there’s more work to be done by the Obama administration to sell the deal, as Vox shows, previous polls indicate varying support for the deal among Americans. A recent Washington Post/ABC poll found that while 56% of Americans surveyed supported the deal, 52% didn’t approve of the president’s “handling of the situation with Iran.” A Pew survey found that 48% of Americans who were aware of the deal disapprove of it, while 38% approve.

Since world leaders reached the historic deal on Iran’s nuclear program in mid-July the Obama administration has been on the offensive trying to get everyday Americans to back the deal. President Obama has talked it up on stops in Africa, during a speech before veterans and an appearance on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and he attempted to address a range of concerns during an hour-long press conference at the White House.

Vice President Joe Biden and various cabinet secretaries have also made appearances on Capitol Hill in attempts to rally support for the deal among members of Congress, which was given 60 days to review the deal before a vote to approve or reject it. President Obama has said he would veto any attempt by Congress to block the bill.

1,017 American adults were contacted via telephone between July 22 and 25 for the CNN/ORC International poll. That group included 898 registered voters. The poll’s results for all American adults have a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

[CNN]