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Most US voters say Donald Trump’s war in Iran has not been worth the cost, according to a new FT poll that underscores how the conflict in the Middle East is weighing on the Republican president’s approval ratings.
The White House has asked Congress to sign off on $67bn in new federal spending to cover the expenses of the war to date. The nationwide poll, conducted last week by Focaldata, found 58 per cent of registered voters said the war had not been worth the cost.
Forty-four per cent of voters said the war had left the US in a weaker position with Iran, compared with 31 per cent who said the conflict had left Washington on a stronger footing.
On the eve of this week’s Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, the FT poll also found that 53 per cent of voters think the US should remain a member of the alliance, compared with 23 per cent who said it should leave.
Trump has for years threatened to leave Nato, including earlier this year when he called it a “paper tiger” and lashed out at European allies for refusing to join the US military campaign in Iran.
In an interview with the FT last week, Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte made the economic case for Trump to remain committed to the alliance, saying Europe’s rearmament drive was sustaining 195,000 US defence jobs through $300bn in arms orders.
With four months to go until November’s midterm elections, when control of both chambers of Congress will be up for grabs, the FT poll comes at a fragile moment for the US president.
A shaky truce remains in place between the US and Iran but Trump faces growing criticism at home, including from fellow Republicans, over his handling of the conflict in the Middle East.
Washington and Tehran last month agreed an interim deal that extended a months-long ceasefire and offered concessions to the Islamic republic that sparked outrage among many Republicans.
But hostilities quickly resumed with a series of tit-for-tat strikes that reignited tensions in the region, before the two sides agreed last weekend to pause the fighting and hold more talks.
The FT poll found voters were largely sceptical of the so-called memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran. Roughly two-thirds — 66 per cent — said it would make either little or no difference to peace or stability in the Middle East or would increase instability and make conflict more likely. Just one in five voters said the deal would lead to peace.
The survey also showed how the conflict — which has pushed petrol and other consumer prices sharply higher this year — continues to drag down the president’s approval.
Just 36 per cent of voters said they approved of the job Trump was doing as president, a two-point drop compared with the previous month. Among independents, the drop-off was sharper, with an approval rate of just 21 per cent, an eight-point decline from one month earlier.
The poll also showed Democrats on firmer footing heading into November’s midterms. Asked which party’s candidate they would support for Congress, respondents gave Democrats a six-point lead, with 44 per cent of voters backing the party compared with 38 per cent for the Republicans. One month earlier, Democrats had a four-point edge.
The poll offered some signs of optimism for Republicans. Asked on a scale of one to 10 how likely they were to vote in November, three-quarters of self-identified Republicans gave a score of eight or higher, compared with 69 per cent of Democrats and just over half — 56 per cent — of independents.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The FT poll was conducted online by Focaldata, a London-based, non-partisan research company, from June 26 to 30. It reflects the opinions of 1,795 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.
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