Rep. Tom Massie
Within hours of President Donald Trump announcing his decision this weekend to bomb multiple military sites in Iran, public opinion polling showed a plurality of Americans opposing the action.
Trump reportedly chose to launch the attack after hours of watching Fox News’ positive coverage of Israel’s attacks on Iran, prompting Iran to respond on Monday with missile attacks on American bases in Qatar and Iraq.
In a YouGov poll taken on Saturday and Sunday, 46 percent of respondents said they strongly or somewhat disapproved of the bombing campaign that Trump instigated. The biggest bloc of people opposed were Democrats, with 70 percent disapproving of the Republican’s actions. Among independents, 51 percent opposed the bombing and even among Republicans, 13 percent said they didn’t back Trump.
A plurality of those who were polled (44 percent) also said they believed Trump’s attack would make Americans less safe. Only 25 percent bought into Trump’s argument that the bombings would secure the country, with 20 percent responding that they were not sure and 11 percent saying that it would neitjher improve nor degrade safety.
The new polling echoed public opinion before the bombing kicked off. In a June 18 Washington Post poll, airstrikes were opposed by 45 percent of the people answering the poll, with 25 percent supporting action.
One woman who was polled, a 74-year-old Republican from Washington who voted for Trump, explained to the outlet, “I think Pres. Trump and the U.S. needs to continue negotiations and alternatives before the U.S. bombs Iran and starts a World War III.”
Trump is following the drumbeat being played on Fox News, but even members of his own party are expressing some level of dissent.
On Monday, Trump complained in a Truth Social post that Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky is a “simple minded grandstander” for voicing opposition to the bombing. “MAGA should drop this pathetic LOSER, Tom Massie, like the plague!” Trump fumed.
Trump also made it clear in another social media post that he is unprepared for the economic fallout from his bombing run.
“EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN. I’M WATCHING! YOU’RE PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY. DON’T DO IT!” he wrote.
Oil supplies could be tightened as world markets and governments assess the fallout from Trump’s escalation and that could lead to higher gas prices. Trump spent much of the last four years complaining about gas prices under former President Joe Biden and claimed he would lower them on his first day in office.
Like his promises of “peace,” that didn’t happen.
Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.
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