BURSTMost Americans disapprove of President Trump’s decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites, according to a new CNN/SSRS poll conducted in the two days following the strikes.
In the survey, released Tuesday, 56 percent of Americans say they disapprove, and 44 percent say they approve, of the “US decision to take military action in Iran.”
Party affiliation splits public sentiment.
Republicans are largely supportive — with 82 percent approving and 18 percent disapproving. Those numbers are flipped among Democrats, 88 percent of whom disapprove and 12 percent of whom approve of the strikes.
Most independents don’t support the strikes, with 60 percent disapproving and 40 percent approving.
Just over half of Americans say they don’t trust in Trump “to make right decisions on use of force in Iran” — with 38 percent trusting Trump “not at all” and 17 percent trusting Trump “not much.” Twenty-three percent of Americans say they trust Trump “moderately,” and 22 percent say they trust Trump a “great deal.”
While there has been some public chatter about a fracturing in Trump’s base, the poll shows Republicans still largely trust Trump’s judgment on Iran.
A majority of Republicans, 51 percent, say they have a “great deal” of trust in Trump to make the right decisions on use of force in Iran, while 37 percent say they “moderately” trust in Trump’s decisions on the issue. Only 8 percent of the GOP say they have “not much” trust in Trump’s decision-making on use of force in Iran, while 5 percent say they trust Trump “not at all” on the issue.
Nearly three-quarters of Democrats, at 71 percent, do “not at all” trust Trump to make the right decisions on use of force in Iran, while 17 percent say they trust Trump "not much," 9 percent say “moderately,” and 3 percent say a “great deal.”
Independents are less optimistic than Americans overall about Trump’s ability to make the right decisions about use of force in Iran. Nearly two-thirds say they either have do “not at all” trust Trump, at 39 percent, or have “not much” trust in Trump, at 23 percent, to make decisions.
Meanwhile, 23 percent say they “moderately” trust Trump, and 15 percent say they trust Trump a “great deal.”
The survey was conducted before the president announced both sides had agreed to a ceasefire, which remains on shaky ground after Israel accused Iran of violating the agreement and vowed retaliation. Trump urged Israel against taking such action and subsequently announced that Israel agreed, and that the ceasefire remained in effect.
But, before the ceasefire, a majority of Americans, at 58 percent, said the military action will make Iran “more of a threat to US” while 27 percent said “less of a threat to US” and 15 percent said neither.
The survey was conducted June 22-23, with 1,030 respondents. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points.