--- title: Most Americans Disapprove of War With Iran, Polls Show description: There is a strong partisan divide in support for Trump’s latest military operations. canonical: https://time.com/7382231/iran-us-israel-war-support-polling-trump-republicans-democrats/ author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-03-03T10:30:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-04T03:42:48.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Most Americans Disapprove of War With Iran, Polls Show og:description: There is a strong partisan divide in support for Trump’s latest military operations. og:url: https://time.com/7382231/iran-us-israel-war-support-polling-trump-republicans-democrats/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0fb5a8402be60936/69b0489f1b00103ca3a432b3/trumpo.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: President Trump Hosts Medal Of Honor Ceremony og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Most Americans Disapprove of War With Iran, Polls Show twitter:description: There is a strong partisan divide in support for Trump’s latest military operations. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0fb5a8402be60936/69b0489f1b00103ca3a432b3/trumpo.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Americans Feel About Trump’s War With Iran, According to the Latest Polls > Sponsored content. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=20a5371b-fd25-4eaa-a50c-d30f63b2388a&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) and [Miranda Jeyaretnam](https://time.com/author/miranda-jeyaretnam/) Updated: Mar 4, 2026 3:42 AM UTCPublished: Mar 3, 2026 10:30 AM UTC  President Donald Trump speaks during a medal of honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 2, 2026. President Donald Trump speaks during a medal of honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 2, 2026. Jim Lo Scalzo—EPA/Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) and [Miranda Jeyaretnam](https://time.com/author/miranda-jeyaretnam/) Updated: Mar 4, 2026 3:42 AM UTCPublished: Mar 3, 2026 10:30 AM UTC The majority of Americans disapprove of the strikes that President Donald Trump ordered against Iran over the weekend, early polling shows. Only 27% of Americans approved of the U.S.-Israeli bombing of Iran, while 43% disapproved, according to a new[ poll by Reuters/Ipsos](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/just-one-four-americans-support-us-strikes-iran-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2026-03-01/) conducted over the weekend, before news that six U.S. soldiers have been[ killed in Iranian retaliatory attacks](https://time.com/7381938/us-soldiers-killed-iran/). And it’s not the only poll. A [CBS survey](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-trump-administration-iran-war-goals/) taken on Monday and Tuesday found that more than 60% of nearly 1,400 American adults did not think the Trump Administration has provided a clear explanation for the U.S.’s goals in Iran. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio [came under scrutiny](https://time.com/7382385/iran-war-congress-marco-rubio-rationale/) over their differing rationales on Iran, with both officials on Tuesday [walking back](https://time.com/7382322/trump-iran-war-progress-knocked-out-reason-for-strikes/) Rubio’s earlier suggestion that Israel may have pressured the U.S. to strike Iran. The U.S. and Israel’s military operations against Iran come just months before the U.S. midterm elections and could prove to be a key issue, especially as the President, who promised peace in his presidential campaign and[ claims to have ended eight wars](https://time.com/7339536/trump-peace-deals-conflicts-status-thailand-cambodia/), has signaled the campaign[ could go on for weeks](https://time.com/7382217/iran-us-middle-east-state-department-advisory-travel-safety-evacuate/) and may even involve[ American boots on the ground](https://time.com/7382186/iran-ground-troops-trump/). The CBS poll also found that while Americans were split on how long they believed a war with Iran would last (days/weeks, months, years, or unclear), approval fell dramatically alongside a more drawn out conflict. Nearly 70% of Americans also said Trump needs authorization from Congress to continue military action against Iran, which he does not currently have. “Trump promised to end wars,” Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee[ posted on X](https://x.com/HouseForeign/status/2028588126545875262) on Monday. “He’s now started more wars than any president in modern American history. Instead of affordable healthcare and groceries, the American people get to foot the billion-dollar tabs for Trump’s foreign wars of choice.” Since entering office last January, Trump has[ ordered military strikes](https://time.com/7382074/countries-trump-has-ordered-strikes-on-second-term/) against seven countries—[more than any other modern-era U.S. President](https://www.axios.com/2026/03/02/trump-iran-war-military-strikes-maga). The U.S. and Israeli[ assassination](https://time.com/7382040/iran-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-successor-next-supreme-leader/) of Iran’s Supreme Leader[ Ayatollah Ali Khamenei](https://time.com/7381859/ali-khamenei-obituary-supreme-leader-iran-dead-86/) is also the second recent example of the Trump Administration orchestrating foreign regime change, following the[ U.S. arrest and extradition](https://time.com/7344628/us-venezuela-trump-maduro-oil-drugs-war-explainer-questions-answered/) of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January. Trump appeared to shrug off the apparent unpopularity of his moves. In an interview with the[ _New York Post_](https://nypost.com/2026/03/02/us-news/trump-wont-rule-out-sending-us-troops-into-iran-if-necessary-tells-the-post-i-dont-care-about-polling/) on Monday, he said, “I think that the polling is very good, but I don’t care about polling. I have to do the right thing. I have to do the right thing. This should have been done a long time ago.” “Look, whether polling is low or not, I think the polling is probably fine. But it’s not a question of polling. You cannot let Iran, who’s a nation that has been run by crazy people, have a nuclear weapon,” Trump continued. “I think people are very impressed with what is happening, actually. … I think it’s a silent—if you did a real poll, the silent poll—and it’s like a silent majority.” ## **Partisan divide** Around 59% of Americans don’t approve of Trump’s decision to strike Iran, according to a[ CNN poll](https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/02/politics/cnn-poll-59-of-americans-disapprove-of-iran-strikes-and-most-think-a-long-term-conflict-is-likely) conducted by SSRS, while roughly 41% of poll respondents said they approved of the move. But the CNN poll also revealed that Americans are sharply split across party lines. More than 80% of Democrats said they disapproved of the strikes, whereas only 23% of Republicans said they disapproved. The CNN poll surveyed more than 1,000 respondents over text message over the weekend. Less than 20% of Democrats said they supported the military action,whereas 77% of Republicans expressed their support for the decision. Of the poll respondents who identified as independent, 68% disapproved of the strikes, compared to 32% who approved. That partisan divide was reflected in other polls, too. Journalists at[ the Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2026/trump-iran-strikes-poll-americans/), who texted more than 1,000 Americans on Sunday to ask them how they felt about the strikes, found that 81% of Republicans supported the military action, whereas only 9% of Democrats did. Just 12% of Republicans said they opposed the attack, whereas 87% of Democrats expressed their disapproval of the strikes. Among independents, 28% supported the attack, while 59% opposed it. The _Post_ found that, overall, 52% of respondents disapproved of Trump’s decision to launch the attack, compared to 39% who supported the move and 9% who said they weren’t sure how they felt about it. The CBS survey also found a similar partisan divide, including that most Republicans approve of U.S. military action in Iran and believe that the action will make the U.S. more safe, against the majority of Americans across party lines. In a survey of more than 1,500 American adults by [_The Economist_/YouGov](https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/54223-americans-increasingly-split-party-lines-us-attack-on-iran-february-27-march-2-2026-economist-yougov-poll), polarization rose from last week when Americans were [asked](https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/54158-few-americans-support-usa-military-action-against-iran-majority-think-it-is-likely-february-20-23-2026-economist-yougov-poll) about whether they would support a potential attack. Last week, 27% said they would support an attack and 39% opposed it. In the latest poll, which surveyed respondents beginning on Friday, a day before the U.S. launched its campaign, through to Monday, 32% supported the military action while 45% opposed it. The change was largely driven by declines in approval among Democrats and Independents and an increase in approval by Republicans. Differences are evident on the streets too. In Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis,[ New York City](https://www.instagram.com/p/DVUWBYqAX2L/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fweb%5Fcopy%5Flink&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D), and other cities, Americans have[ come out to protest](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/28/khamenei-killing-protests-us) the war, even as others have[ rallied](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-03-01/thousands-rally-in-westwood-as-u-s-iran-war-escalates-calling-for-free-iran) to celebrate the death of Khamenei. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7382231/iran-us-israel-war-support-polling-trump-republicans-democrats/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7382231/iran-us-israel-war-support-polling-trump-republicans-democrats/"},"headline":"How Americans Feel About Trump’s War With Iran, According to the Latest Polls","datePublished":"2026-03-03T10:30:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-04T03:42:48.000Z","description":"There is a strong partisan divide in support for Trump’s latest military operations.","url":"https://time.com/7382231/iran-us-israel-war-support-polling-trump-republicans-democrats/","keywords":["Donald Trump","overnight","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0fb5a8402be60936/69b0489f1b00103ca3a432b3/trumpo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chantelle Lee","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Miranda Jeyaretnam","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/miranda-jeyaretnam/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0fb5a8402be60936/69b0489f1b00103ca3a432b3/trumpo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Hosts Medal Of Honor Ceremony","caption":"President Trump Hosts Medal Of Honor Ceremony","creditText":"Jim Lo Scalzo—EPA/Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7382231/iran-us-israel-war-support-polling-trump-republicans-democrats/","name":"How Americans Feel About Trump’s War With Iran, According to the Latest Polls"}}]}] ```