Six days after the U.S. attacked Iran as part of a joint operation with Israel, opinion polls reveal grave doubts among the American public about the endeavor.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted right after hostilities began found only 27% of surveyed Americans approve of the U.S. actions against Iran, while 43% disapproved and 29% said they were unsure.
The lack of public support spells political peril for Trump, even as he enthuses about how well American actions are going, celebrates the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and suggests that U.S. operations against the Islamic Republic will likely only last four weeks or so.
Trump has so far abjured the traditional modes of wartime communication, such as a prime-time televised address to the nation. He has instead opted for a combination of videos released on his own social media accounts, extemporaneous remarks at White House events and a succession of brief, on-the-record phone interviews with journalists.
I’d like to run a poll of as many Americans as could be managed, and ask them if we should maintain diplomatic relations with… and then list a series of real and fictional nations. I suspect we’d get something like 25 to 30% who think we should cut off diplomatic ties with Narnia, Wakanda, and Oz.
We could never break our ties with Narnia! They’re our strongest allies in the Magic Kingdoms!