A brutal new poll suggests Americans are losing patience with Donald Trump’s handling of his war on Iran.
According to a CBS News/YouGov survey of 2,193 adults, conducted July 22-24, 57 percent of Americans say they are frustrated by the war, which Trump launched without congressional authorization and has already cost the U.S. at least $37.5 billion.
Overall, 61 percent disapprove of Trump’s handling of the conflict, compared with just 39 percent who approve.
The findings also point to growing pessimism about the war’s direction.
Nearly two-thirds, 63 percent, believe the conflict is going badly for the United States, while 76 percent say it has been harder than Trump expected. Sixty percent think the president makes the situation in Iran sound better than it really is.
As a result, Americans want the war to come to an end rapidly, the poll shows.
Two-thirds, 67 percent, say Trump should end the war now, including 73 percent of independents and even 30 percent of Republicans.
But 37 percent believe the conflict will continue for months and a further 32 percent expect it to drag on for years.
That is despite the fact that Trump has frequently suggested the war, launched on Feb. 28 with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, would be over soon.
An NBC News review found at least 32 instances where Trump said the war was won or almost won.
But there is no sign that the war will be over any time soon after Trump’s temporary ceasefire collapsed, prompting U.S. Central Command to restore its naval blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran resumed retaliatory attacks on American bases.
Last weekend, four U.S. service members were killed in strikes on bases in Jordan and Iraq, bringing the confirmed American death toll to 18 since the U.S.-Israeli campaign began on Feb. 28.
Trump responded by vowing on Truth Social that Iran would pay “many times over” for every American killed.
But if fighting continues, there could be more misery ahead for Americans in a war that has already led to a spike in energy prices.
AAA data shows gasoline prices are once again creeping toward $5 a gallon, raising fears that prolonged instability could drive costs even higher.
The White House has insisted that the price rises are temporary, but Americans are certainly feeling the impact.
The poll found 75 percent say their incomes are not keeping pace with inflation, half say rising prices are causing financial hardship, and 78 percent believe Trump is not focused enough on bringing costs down.
That is bad news for Trump and his party ahead of November’s midterms, when the cost of living will be at the front of voters’ minds.
With economic conditions volatile, White House officials have been warning for months that rising gas prices could be the biggest weakness for the Republicans in November, and ultimately cost them control of the House.
“The toughest thing, too, is that we made gas prices the Achilles’ heel for (former President Joe) Biden and now it’s our own,” an unnamed adviser told Reuters in May.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
