Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Oppose Trump’s Strikes on Iran

Only 27 percent of respondents to a Reuters/Ipsos poll said they approved of the attacks.

The backs and sides of dozens of protesters are shown outside. Many are holding signs that mention words like "Iran," "no war," and "stop the bombing." There are also two Palestine flags being held by members of the crowd.

Protesters gather on the streets around the White House on Saturday. Andrew Thomas/Sipa USA/AP

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Just one in four Americans supports the Trump administration’s ongoing strikes on Iran, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Sunday. 

The disapproval rating was 43 percent, while 29 percent said they were not sure.

About half of respondents—including one in four Republicans—said the president was too open to using military force. The poll surveyed 1,282 US adults starting on Saturday, following news breaking of the strikes. 

Even before the attacks, Trump’s handling of Iran was unpopular. Back in January, a Reuters/Ipsos found that only 33 percent of Americans approved of the president’s policy with Iran, while 43 percent disapproved. 

For comparison, in the seven months prior to the US invasion of Iraq, a Gallup poll found that somewhere between 52 and 63 percent of Americans favored an invasion. And in the days following the beginning of the war, Gallup found that 72 percent supported the military action. Although these numbers are based on Gallup polling, the both surveys come from samples of over 1,000 US adults and, similarly, note a margin of error of 3 percentage points. 

As my colleague Katie Herchenroeder noted on Saturday, there have been massive demonstrations around the world against the US and Israeli strikes against Iran, and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attacks at a UN Security Council meeting. Congress is expected to vote on a war powers resolution this week in an attempt to stop the strikes.

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