Donald Trump faces deep public skepticism about Iran war ahead of White House speech, CNN poll finds

By Ariel Edwards-Levy, CNN

(CNN) — Just one-third of the public believes President Donald Trump has a clear plan to handle the situation in Iran, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, underscoring the deep skepticism ahead of his Wednesday night White House address on the war.

Americans’ already broad disapproval of US military action in Iran has grown since the start of the war, the poll found. Just 34% of Americans now say they approve at least somewhat of the US decision to take military action in Iran, down 7 points from a CNN poll conducted just after the start of the war. Disapproval has risen to 66%, with strong opposition climbing 12 points to 43%.

With a growing share of the public now calling a long-term military conflict between the US and Iran at least somewhat likely, most Americans are wary of deepening involvement. A 71% majority say they’d oppose Congress authorizing spending $200 billion to fund further US military action in Iran, as the Pentagon has proposed. A similar 68% are opposed to sending ground troops into Iran.

Democrats and independents remain broadly opposed to the US deploying ground troops, but Republicans also break narrowly against the idea. Even Republicans identifying themselves as part of the “Make America Great Again” movement tilt against ground troops: 32% oppose the idea while 25% favor it. Among non-MAGA Republicans, 56% oppose it, with 20% in favor.

Trump’s approval rating for handling the situation in Iran sits at 33%, just below his overall 35% approval rating and his 36% rating for foreign policy. And 33% now say they approve of his handling of the role of commander in chief. That’s down 8 points from a January poll taken in the immediate aftermath of US military action in Venezuela and 5 points below his previous presidential low. About 6 in 10 say he has gone too far in trying to expand America’s power over other countries, little changed since January.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio fares slightly better than the president with a 41% job approval rating, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s approval rating stands at 35%.

More division within the GOP

Views of the Iran war remain sharply, although not symmetrically, divided along partisan lines: 94% of Democrats and 74% of independents disapprove of military action in Iran, while 28% of Republicans disapprove.

While Democrats are nearly unanimous in their opposition, the poll shows more division within the GOP.

Republicans over the age of 45 are more than twice as likely as younger Republicans to say they strongly approve of Trump’s decision to take military action.

While some prominent MAGA voices have criticized the Iran war, that divide is less evident among the broader public, where those identifying as MAGA remain Trump’s staunchest supporters. Instead, among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, the gap is between the MAGA movement and everyone else. Those who describe themselves as members of the MAGA movement are 40 points likelier than others aligned with the GOP to believe that Trump has a clear plan for handling Iran and 27 points likelier to strongly approve of the decision to take military action.

Is the war worth the costs?

Underlying Americans’ reluctance to consider committing further funding or troops is a broader skepticism about whether the conflict is worthwhile. Asked whether the war in Iran has been worth the toll in American lives and the financial burden to the government, just 29% say yes.

That’s a marked contrast from similar polling taken in the initial days of the Iraq war. Just after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, 59% of US adults said that the war had been worth the toll in American lives and other costs, a CNN/Time survey found. While that consensus fell away over the following months, that figure was still higher a year later than the share of the public now saying the Iran war was worth the toll.

Concerns about the war’s costs, financially and otherwise, come against a backdrop of heightened economic concerns at home.

Most Americans say they’re following news about the situation in Iran at least somewhat closely. And asked in an open-ended question to name the most important issue facing the US, 13% mentioned the Iran war – a notably high percentage for anything relating to foreign policy. But that still lags far behind the 40% who mentioned economic issues.

For some, the two issues are interlinked.

“We’re involved in a war we shouldn’t be and the economy is collapsing,” wrote one woman who took the survey, a Republican from Idaho.

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CNN’s Jennifer Agiesta and Edward Wu contributed to this report.