Trump keeps declaring victory in Iran. Americans don't buy it. A disturbing poll for the White House
New POLITICO poll results show support for military action is weak — just 38 percent. Americans support attacks on Iran — and opinions remain largely unchanged since the beginning of the war, even though the administration has already had several weeks to make its case.
Most respondents say war is not in Americans' interest, and a significant portion still isn't convinced the president has clear goals. This also applies to a large group of his supporters in the 2024 elections.
Nearly half of all respondents also say the president has spent too much time on international rather than domestic issues, including 29 percent, according to a poll by Public First. his own 2024 voters.
The results suggest that Trump has made little progress in persuading the public to a conflict that distracted him from supporting concerned Republicans in promoting their economic message ahead of November. Now he must grapple with their fears that the war — and its knock-on effect on gas, oil and food prices — could undermine the GOP's most important message heading into the midterms.
“I think the biggest problem is that this war wasn't announced in advance,” says Jason Roe, a Republican strategist from Michigan. — [Trump] he campaigned against these kinds of policies and these kinds of actions, and then suddenly he changed his mind, so… Americans were not prepared for this, he notes.
41 percent Americans say Trump has no plan to resolve the conflict with Iran, which has remained virtually unchanged since last month. And even if the president declares victory and suggests that the war may be coming to an end, only 15 percent respondents say they achieved their intervention goals. Another 25 percent he thinks he will achieve it, but he hasn't done it yet. 40 percent believes that Trump will either never achieve his goals in Iran or has no clearly defined goals at all.
The White House said the Trump administration is focused on both the ongoing conflict with Iran and Americans' concerns about affordability.
“While the U.S. military and the president's diplomatic team continue to make progress toward reaching an agreement with Iran and resolving temporary disruptions in energy markets, the rest of the administration continues to advance the president's affordability and economic growth agenda on the domestic front,” spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.
“Once the short-term disruption caused by Operation Epic Fury passes, Americans can count on continued economic progress under this administration,” Desai added.
More than a quarter of Americans — 27 percent — believe that Trump has a plan to resolve the conflict with Iran, while 41% he says he doesn't have it. The third group, constituting 15 percent. claims that Trump has no plan, but believes that his actions will lead to a resolution of the conflict.
Trump voters do not believe that the war will end soon
Trump has largely retained support for the war among his supporters. Still more than a third of Trump voters say he doesn't have a planalthough many believe that his actions will lead to a resolution of the conflict anyway. 45 percent Trump voters say he hasn't achieved his goals even though they expect him to.
Their responses reveal strong confidence in the president while also suggesting an awareness that the war could last longer than the four to six weeks the administration initially indicated.
The president has offered various justifications for the war and promised earlier this week that the conflict was nearing an end. “I think it might end soon.” “If they're smart, it'll be over soon,” he said on Fox Business's Mornings With Maria Bartiromo, referring to Iranian negotiators.
Protest against the Iran war in New York, April 8, 2026.Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images
Asked if he thought oil and gas prices would fall before the midterms, he said prices might be “a little bit higher but should stay about the same,” which did not assuage Republican fears that high prices would fall before November.
Later, in another interview, Trump said he believed gas prices would be “significantly lower” before the November election. — They said I expected high oil prices during the midterm elections, but I don't expect it. “I think we'll be somewhere at the level we were at, or maybe even lower,” he said.
Republicans are worried
The future of the negotiations remains uncertain, and the conflict is now in its seventh week. After peace talks ended without an agreement, Trump has increased pressure on Tehran in recent days, ordering a blockade of Iranian ports, which threatens to further increase gasoline prices. Republicans largely publicly support Trump, but there are growing concerns among them about a prolonged conflict could alienate war-weary voters in the party.
The war turned out to be for the Republican Party a communication challenge as much as a political problemand voters of both parties consistently — including in POLITICO's April poll — rank concerns about the cost of living as the most important issue heading into the midterm elections.
“I think the biggest communication problem is that every day we hear that everything will be over tomorrow, and it's been almost two months since that promise,” Roe notes. “I think most Republicans are still optimistic that this will be resolved quickly, but I think the biggest mistake is telling us every day that it will all be over tomorrow,” the Republican strategist adds.
The POLITICO poll was conducted April 11-14 by Public First among 2,035 U.S. adults via the Internet.
