CNN data expert Harry Enten appeared stunned by brutal polling showing international backlash to President Donald Trump’s war in Iran.
Enten, the network’s chief data analyst, presented damning numbers showing Washington’s traditional allies turning against Trump, 79, following his decision to launch coordinated strikes with Israel on Iran on Feb. 28.
“You see these numbers, you see these shifts down,” Enter told “News Central” anchor John Berman, pointing to net approval ratings of the Trump administration’s war in Iran at -27 in Canada, -73 in Japan, and -34 in the U.K.
“You see how unpopular it is this time around in Canada, Japan, the U.K., and this is just part of a larger picture,” Enten went on.
“The bottom line is this. The folks overseas are far less likely to view the U.S. favorably, and those chickens are coming home to roost in this situation, as there’s very little support abroad for the U.S. military action in Iran,” he added.
Trump ordered the launch of “major combat operations” against Iran in what was initially presented as a regime-change operation but has since morphed into a rapidly expanding war for which the White House seems to have been unprepared.
More than two weeks in, the president has repeatedly blasted his NATO allies for refusing to assist the U.S. in securing the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway where Iranian attacks have stopped oil supplies from getting through. Trump was repeatedly warned of the likelihood of the strait getting shut down before he decided to launch the war.
The president said in the Oval Office on Tuesday that “we don’t need any help” from NATO but added: “But they should’ve been there.”
In a pointed jab at the U.K., Trump said bilateral relations were “always the best” until Prime Minister Keir Starmer “came along.”
“All of our NATO allies were very much in favor of what we did. They thought it was very important,” Trump said. “Everyone agrees with us, but they don’t want to help. And we, as the United States, have to remember that, because we think it’s pretty shocking.”
The president added: “I think NATO is making a very foolish mistake. And I’ve long said that, you know, I wonder whether or not NATO would ever be there for us.
Trump has offered shifting explanations for his decision to strike Iran. He initially said Tehran was preparing to strike U.S. bases. However, Trump administration officials later told congressional staffers in closed-door briefings that there was no intelligence pointing toward imminent Iranian strikes.
In a dramatic move, Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned on Tuesday, claiming in a letter that “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
Kent, a Republican and Army combat veteran, became the first senior official to publicly break with the administration over the conflict.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
