A majority of Americans say President Donald Trump’s military action against Iran was a mistake, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, putting opposition near levels seen during the Iraq War in 2006 and the Vietnam War in the early 1970s.
The survey found 61% of Americans say using force against Iran was a mistake. Fewer than 20% say the campaign has been successful, while about 40% say it has been unsuccessful and another 40% say it is “too soon to tell.”
Republicans remain strongly supportive, with 79% saying Trump made the right decision. Republican-leaning independents are more divided, with 52% calling it the right decision and 46% saying it was a mistake.
Trump has suggested the standoff could continue, saying Wednesday he intends to make Iranian leaders “cry uncle” and that there would “never be a deal unless they agree that there will be no nuclear weapons.”
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and says it wants an initial agreement to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz before resuming nuclear talks. Trump has ruled out direct talks for now, after an early April round failed to produce a deal.
Oil markets have been pressured by the near halt in shipping through the strait. Brent crude futures fell 3.7% Thursday after reaching their highest level since 2022.
Trump said he was willing to accept short-term economic fallout to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“When we hit 50,000 on the Dow and 7,000 on the S&P, I said to myself, ‘We got to do something about Iran,’” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “And I hated to do it to my people … then I said to [National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett], ‘Sorry about this, Kevin, but we have to, we have to put out a fire.’
“And the fire is taking place in the lovely country of Iran, and they want to have a nuclear weapon,” he added.
Americans remain wary of Iran despite skepticism about the war. The poll found 48% support making a peace deal “even if it results in a worse deal for the U.S.,” while 46% want to “push Iran for a better deal, even if it means resuming U.S. military action against Iran.”
Trump’s April 7 warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if Iran did not reach a deal drew broad disapproval. Twenty-one percent reacted positively, while 76% reacted negatively.
The comparison to Iraq and Vietnam is notable. In mid-2006, 59% said the Iraq War was a mistake, while similar numbers said the same about Vietnam in the early 1970s.
By 1971, more than 50,000 Americans had died in Vietnam; by April 2006, 2,402 U.S. troops had died in Iraq. The Pentagon says 13 U.S. service members have died in the Iran conflict.
Sixty-five percent are not confident an agreement ending the war would prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
“Iran is dying to make a deal. I can only tell you that,” Trump said. “They cannot be nuclear.”
The poll was conducted April 24-28 and surveyed 2,560 U.S. adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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