{"id":172213,"date":"2026-07-30T19:17:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T19:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/172213\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T19:17:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T19:17:18","slug":"2-3-of-us-adults-say-iran-war-hasnt-been-worthwhile-28-back-trumps-handling-of-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/172213\/","title":{"rendered":"2\/3 of US adults say Iran war hasn’t been worthwhile; 28% back Trump’s handling of it"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Most Americans say the war in Iran has not been worth fighting, and US President Donald Trump\u2019s approval rating on Iran has fallen slightly since last month, according to a new AP-NORC poll.<\/p>\n

The results are a stark repudiation of the Republican president\u2019s approach to the conflict, which has dragged on far longer than he originally predicted.<\/p>\n

About two-thirds of US adults say the war with Iran, which began Feb. 28, has not been worthwhile, according to the new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That includes the vast majority of Democrats and independents, as well as about 37% of Republicans.<\/p>\n

The poll \u2014 which surveyed 1,165 adults and had a margin of error of \u00b13.7 percentage points \u2014 was conducted July 23-27, as the US and Iran paused attacks following a nearly two-week escalation in the war.<\/p>\n

During the escalation, the US targeted Iranian military and commercial sites while Iran attacked US military facilities in the Middle East, resulting in additional deaths of American service members. Since the war began, 18 US service members have been killed, but the Trump administration has sought to revise those numbers.<\/p>\n

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The survey reinforces how unpopular the Iran war has become at home, a potential problem for congressional Republicans up for reelection in November who have defended Trump\u2019s military actions. Just 28% of US adults now approve of how Trump is handling Iran, a slight decline from 34% last month.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tThis screen grab from footage released by the US Central Command on July 25, 2026 shows what CENTCOM says are operations enforcing its naval blockade against Iran. (US CENTRAL COMMAND\/ AFP)<\/p>\n

Even Republicans appear to be increasingly unhappy with the prolonged conflict. Roughly 61% of Republicans approve of how Trump is handling Iran, an apparent decline from 71% in June. The margin of sampling error for Republicans is 6 points, so the decline is considered slight, but it\u2019s still noteworthy given Republicans\u2019 much higher approval of how Trump is handling the presidency overall.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s overall approval rating is at 33%, slightly below where he stood at this point in his first term and similar to where former president Joe Biden stood about one and a half years into his presidency, when inflation peaked.<\/p>\n

Robert McClary, a 52-year-old Republican from Sugar Grove, Ohio, is skeptical the war could be brought to an easy conclusion and disapproves of Trump\u2019s handling of it. McClary voted for the president once, in 2016, but recalls that during the last election, Trump campaigned on not starting new wars in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have any trust in this administration at all and to why they brought us into this war, why they\u2019re putting our soldiers at risk again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The findings also indicate that most Americans\u2019 goals for the conflict may not be aligned with Trump, who has repeatedly said the war was launched to keep a nuclear weapon out of Iran\u2019s hands. While about two-thirds of US adults say it\u2019s \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d important to keep Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon \u2014 with Republicans especially likely to say this \u2014 even more Americans say it\u2019s highly important for the US to keep gasoline prices low or negotiate a permanent ceasefire with Iran.<\/p>\n

McClary added: \u201cI really don\u2019t know what you can do now. I mean, you\u2019ve kind of gotten yourself buried into this mess.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tThis image from video released by US Central Command, shows a view from a Corsair unmanned surface vessel, also called one-way attack surface drone, fired by US military, closing in on Bandar Abbas Naval Base, Iran, July 12, 2026. (US Central Command via AP)<\/p>\n

There\u2019s little appetite among Americans for a prolonged conflict.<\/p>\n

Only about 2 in 10 US adults want to continue military action in Iran, while about 3 in 10 say the US should pause military action and seek a renewed ceasefire through negotiations. About 2 in 10 want to completely stop military action in Iran and roughly one-quarter don\u2019t know enough to say.<\/p>\n

About half of Republicans say the US should continue military action against Iran, particularly those who identify as \u201cvery conservative.\u201d Republicans who identify as MAGA \u2014 part of Trump\u2019s Make America Great Again movement \u2014 are much likelier than non-MAGA Republicans to say the war should continue. Non-MAGA Republicans are more likely to want a ceasefire or a complete halt to the military action.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Norton, a 71-year-old Republican from Crossville, Tennessee, supports military action in Iran but has been displeased to see prices rising for things like beef roasts and hamburgers. Norton lives on a \u201cmodest income,\u201d and things are getting expensive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am getting a little impatient, but when I start to dwell on that for a minute, I remember Mr. President Trump is a brilliant businessman,\u201d she said. \u201cHe can\u2019t tell us exactly what he\u2019s doing, but I trust that he\u2019s doing something. I mean, he is doing fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Independents and Democrats are more likely than Republicans to want to stop military action against Iran immediately, although about 3 in 10 Republicans want either a pause or complete stop to military action.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tPresident Donald Trump waves while walking on the Ellipse after arriving on Marine One, July 27, 2026, near the White House in Washington. (AP\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)<\/p>\n

Ryan Sloan, a 39-year-old Republican in Lakeland, Florida, has come to disapprove of the conflict in Iran recently because he wants a better explanation from the Trump administration about why the war intensified in late July.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s face it, not everybody\u2019s going to be happy with him,\u201d Sloan said. \u201cI just wish I\u2019d have had more transparency about why things were going on the way they were.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many Americans continue to be concerned about the pocketbook impact of the Iran war. About 7 in 10 US adults \u2014 72% \u2014 say it\u2019s \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d important for the US to prevent domestic oil and gas prices from rising, up slightly from 67% in March.<\/p>\n

Oil topped $100 a barrel last week, ending a brief period of lower prices when hostilities between the US and Iran eased in June. Gas prices rose above $4 per gallon on average, and the elevated fuel price is hitting consumers in other ways, too. Inflation cooled last month but remains elevated, and consumer spending has slowed, with signs that Americans are taking advantage of sales and other incentives.<\/p>\n

There are also indications that fluctuating gasoline prices are an increasingly big problem for many Americans. About 4 in 10 say the cost of gas for their car is a \u201cmajor source\u201d of stress in their life right now, compared with about 3 in 10 in February.<\/p>\n

Mikal Baker, a 47-year-old political independent in Sandy Springs, Georgia, disapproves of the war in Iran and is frustrated by the effect on gas prices.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see the benefit. I don\u2019t see the total benefit of the American citizen for this war,\u201d he said. But Baker is skeptical it will ever come to an end. \u201cI can\u2019t say it will ever be over with.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tGas pumps are seen at a gas station in the US, June 25, 2026. (AP\/Nam Y. Huh)<\/p>\n

Some Americans may be hoping that gasoline prices could stabilize or go down. About 4 in 10 US adults are \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d concerned about being able to afford gas in the next few months, down slightly from 45% in March.<\/p>\n

Even as most Americans prioritize keeping gas prices from rising, a similar share say it\u2019s \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d important to negotiate a permanent ceasefire with Iran.<\/p>\n

About 7 in 10 Americans say it\u2019s \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d important for the US to reach a ceasefire agreement, slightly higher than the roughly two-thirds who say it\u2019s at least \u201cvery\u201d important to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. That\u2019s also well above the 4 in 10 who say it\u2019s \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d important to prevent Iran from threatening Israel.<\/p>\n

Early in the conflict, Trump said the United States\u2019 primary objectives were to degrade Iran\u2019s military capability, eliminate their Navy and Air Force, keep them from gaining nuclear weapons and protect US allies in the region.<\/p>\n

Republicans, in particular, say it\u2019s highly important to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. About 8 in 10 say this is at least \u201cvery\u201d important, compared with roughly 7 in 10 who say that about preventing oil and gas prices from rising and negotiating a permanent ceasefire with Iran.<\/p>\n

Sloan, the Florida Republican, believes it\u2019s important to keep Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon, adding: \u201cWe are most definitely their number one targets once they do have nuclear capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Most Americans say the war in Iran has not been worth fighting, and US President…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":172214,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[23763,12,68,25614,3947,10,11],"class_list":["post-172213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-donald-trump","tag-2026-us-israel-war-with-iran","tag-donald-trump","tag-gas-prices","tag-irans-nuclear-program","tag-maga","tag-potus","tag-president-of-the-united-states"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/117010540138234175","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}