Presidents once saw dramatic upswings when they approve military action. President Donald Trump changed that when he ordered a strike against Iran.
A September 2019 University of Maryland poll foreshadowed the trouble Trump would face with the public if the crisis with Iran escalated. The poll showed that Americans believed that any war with Iran would be “unwarranted.” That includes Republican respondents. They also believe that Trump is to blame for the heightened tensions with Iran.
It’s perhaps why Trump has tried the “imminent threat” tactic to justify the killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Suleimani.
In the wake of the announcement, Americans said that they agreed with taking out Suleimani (43 percent to 38 percent), but they didn’t think he planned the airstrikes carefully enough (43 percent compared to 35 percent who said he did). They believed that Trump should have gone to Congress for authorization (44 percent).
Almost one week later, that has shifted significantly, as Americans learned more about the president’s decision-making process.
CNN reported Sunday that seven in 10 Americans (69 percent) say Trump’s decision to kill Suleimani increased the chances that there will be future attacks by Iran in the Middle East. A whopping 63 percent of Americans surveyed also expect more terrorist attacks to happen within the United States due to Trump’s actions. They also believe, to the tune of 52 percent, that Trump’s actions made Iran more likely to develop nuclear weapons.
