Two months into the U.S. military conflict with Iran, Americans continue to express significant doubts about how President Donald Trump and his administration are handling the situation.
About six-in-ten Americans (62%) disapprove of Trump’s handling of the military action against Iran, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. That includes 45% who strongly disapprove. Just over a third (36%) approve.
These views have held steady since March, when 61% disapproved of Trump’s handling of the conflict and 37% approved.
Nearly six-in-ten (59%) say that the U.S. made the wrong decision in using military force in Iran, while 38% say this was the right decision. This is also unchanged from the March survey.
However, the share of Americans who say the military action is going not too or not at all well has ticked up. Today, 51% say it’s not going well, compared with 45% a month ago. Roughly two-in-ten (22%) say the military action is going extremely or very well.
The new survey, conducted April 20-26 among 5,103 U.S. adults, also finds that much of the public is uncertain about the Trump administration’s goals in the conflict:
- 48% say the administration’s goals are not too or not at all clear.
- Half as many (24%) say its goals are extremely or very clear.
- 15% say its goals are somewhat clear, while 12% are not sure.
The balance of opinion is similarly skeptical when it comes to whether the administration will achieve its goals in the conflict with Iran. About half of Americans (49%) say they are not too or not at all confident about this, while 22% are extremely or very confident.
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Partisan views of the conflict with Iran
Republicans and Democrats remain far apart in their views of how the conflict with Iran is going and how well Trump is handling the situation.
How well is the military action going?
Both Republicans and Democrats are slightly more likely now than they were in March to say the U.S. military action is not going well. Yet Democrats remain roughly three times as likely as Republicans to say it’s going not too or not at all well (76% vs. 26%).
Even so, Republicans are not overwhelmingly positive. Roughly four-in-ten (43%) say the military action against Iran is going extremely or very well.
Evaluations of Trump’s handling of the conflict
While two-thirds of Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the conflict with Iran, nearly a third (32%) disapprove.
By comparison, nine-in-ten Democrats disapprove of Trump’s handling of the conflict, and just 9% approve. Democrats are about twice as likely to strongly disapprove (76%) as Republicans are to strongly approve (36%).
How clear are the administration’s goals?
When it comes to how clear the Trump administration’s goals in the conflict are, 73% of Democrats say they are not too or not at all clear. Just 16% say they are at least somewhat clear.
Republicans offer more mixed assessments: 45% say the administration’s goals are extremely or very clear, 20% say they are somewhat clear, and 23% say they are not too or not at all clear.
Note: Here are the survey questions used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the survey methodology.
