Portside

Weeks into the U.S. military campaign against Iran, majorities of Americans say striking that country was the wrong decision and disapprove of President Donald Trump’s handling of the conflict.

About six-in-ten Americans (61%) disapprove of Trump’s handling of the conflict, while 37% approve.

The new Pew Research Center survey of 3,524 U.S. adults, conducted March 16-22, also finds a similar balance of opinion on whether the initial decision to use military force was right (38%) or wrong (59%).

And by nearly two-to-one, more say the military action is not going well (45%) than say it is going extremely or very well (25%).

But there are stark partisan differences in these views:

Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents overwhelmingly disapprove of Trump’s handling of the conflict (90%) and say the U.S. made the wrong decision in striking Iran (88%).

In contrast, about seven-in-ten Republicans and Republican leaners approve of how Trump is handling the conflict (69%) and think the U.S. made the right decision (71%).

 

Still, sizable shares of Republicans take the opposing views.

Republican-leaning independents, in particular, are divided. For instance, roughly half (52%) approve of Trump’s handling of the conflict, while 45% disapprove.

How long do Americans think the war with Iran will last?

A narrow majority of Americans (54%) believe the U.S. military action against Iran will continue for at least six more months, including 29% who think it will last a year or more.

Roughly a third (35%) expect the war to last another one to six months, while 8% say it will end in less than a month.

Most Republicans (58%) expect the war to end within the next six months. In contrast, 68% of Democrats think the war will continue for six months or more, including 40% who say it will still be going on a year from now.

Will the war with Iran make the U.S. and the world safer or less safe?

 

By nearly two-to-one, more Americans say the military action against Iran will make the U.S. less safe in the long run (40%) than say it will make the country safer (22%). Two-in-ten say the military action will leave the U.S. about as safe as before, while 18% say they are not sure.

Americans are more evenly divided over the impact on safety around the world: 33% say the U.S. military action will make the world less safe, while 27% say it will make the world safer. About two-in-ten (19%) say it will make no difference, and an identical share are not sure (19%).

Trump’s handling of the conflict with Iran

In addition to the overall wide partisan divide over Trump’s handling of the conflict, there are sizable gaps inside the Republican coalition.

 

Republican identifiers vs. leaners

Among those who consider themselves Republicans, 79% say they approve of how Trump is handling the conflict.

In contrast, about half of Republican-leaning independents (52%) say the same.

Younger vs. older Republicans

There are also wide age gaps among Republicans:

• 84% of Republicans 65 and older and 79% of those 50 to 64 approve of how Trump is handling the conflict.
• Smaller shares of younger Republicans – 49% of those 18 to 29 and 60% of those 30 to 49 – say the same.

By comparison, 90% of Democrats and Democratic leaners disapprove of Trump’s handling of the conflict. These views are largely consistent across both leaners and partisans, as well as across age groups.

Partisan views of the decision to use military force in Iran – and how the conflict is going

The decision to use force in Iran

 

Similar to approval of Trump’s handling of the conflict, Democrats overwhelmingly say the U.S. made the wrong decision to use military force in Iran (88%), while a narrower majority of Republicans (71%) say the decision was the correct one.

Among Republicans ages 50 and older, 85% say the U.S. made the right decision in striking Iran. By comparison, a smaller majority (58%) of Republicans 18 to 49 say this.

How the conflict is going

Entering the conflict’s fourth week, Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to say it is going well:

• 46% of Republicans and Republican leaners say it is going extremely or very well, compared with just 6% of Democrats and Democratic leaners.
• 69% of Democrats say the conflict is not going too well or not going well at all, and 21% of Republicans say the same.