SerpApi.Org
U.S. President Donald Trump aggressively downplayed Americans' opposition to the Iran war during a recent press gaggle.
The incident unfolded Wednesday morning outside Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to fly to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to attend a dignified transfer for fallen troops from the Iran war. Before boarding his flight, a reporter said, "Americans are firmly against this war," then began asking his question. However, the president cut the journalist off to dismiss his claims about widespread U.S. public opposition to the war, despite several polls indicating otherwise.
"Well, Americans aren't against the war. A poll just came out. Americans don't want high gasoline prices, but they're not against the war. That just came out loud and clear in a poll," Trump claimed Wednesday while answering questions on the airport tarmac.
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"Nobody wants Iran to have a nuclear weapon," Trump continued, before pressing the reporter, "Do you want Iran to have a nuclear weapon? Do you think it's good?". He went on to select another reporter to ask a different question, effectively dismissing the remark.
Despite Trump's confident declaration, several recent polls indicate that Trump's war in Iran is widely unpopular among the U.S. public.
Just this morning, POLITICO released a new poll that found a dramatic 13-point drop within two months of Republicans who believe that the economic repercussions of the Iran war were worth it to achieve Trump's war aims, including his vow to stop the Islamic Republic from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Several other recent polls came to similar conclusions about U.S. public opposition to the Iran war.
Currently, only slightly over a third of Republicans believe the economic downturn from the Iran war was worth it, compared to half of Republicans who agreed with that argument in May.
The massive shift reflects that even Trump's most fervent supporters are now in alignment with the majority of Americans who have always been against U.S. involvement in the Iran war, as nearly 1 in 5 MAGA voters support ending the Iran war regardless of economic costs, the POLITICO Poll indicates.
The same POLITICO poll found that 37% of self-identified MAGA Trump voters support continuing the war only if it does not result in rising prices, compared with 29% who agreed with that argument in May.
The poll comes after the tenuous Iran ceasefire deal seemingly fell through after renewed retaliatory attacks between the two warring nations. Trump declared earlier in the month that the tentative peace agreement was "over" after the fresh wave of attacks.
Two U.S. troops have since been killed after an incident in Jordan earlier in the week and gas prices rose above $4 per gallon, POLITICO notes.
