Anna Kelly, temporarily filling in for White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt while she is on maternity leave, pushed back on questions about President Donald Trump’s sharply worsening approval ratings tied to the Iran war—insisting he isn’t making decis
For the third time in a week, the conversation inside the White House was pulled back to numbers: approval ratings, disapproval, and a public that—at least on paper—doesn’t line up with the campaign against Iran.
Anna Kelly. temporarily filling in for White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt while she is on maternity leave. faced that tension head-on during an interview on Fox News with Martha MacCallum. The question was direct: what was President Donald Trump’s reaction to new polling that has tracked the worsening political fallout as the Iran conflict drags on. months after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on February 28.
MacCallum pointed to a The New York Times poll showing 65% of Americans either “disapprove” or “strongly disapprove” of Trump’s handling of the war. She then pressed Kelly: “What’s [President Trump’s] reaction to that? What’s been the discussion at the White House about this new polling, Anna?”
Kelly’s answer didn’t waver. She defended the administration’s approach by framing the conflict as a national security issue rather than a political one. Iran. she said. is “a country that for 47 years has chanted death to America. has killed Americans overseas. has threatened our troops.” She added that Iran had “lashed out these rogue threats against our allies in the region.”.
Then she went straight back to the polling itself. “So this is not a situation that is sustainable. Iran knows that better than anybody. And so the president isn’t making decisions based on fluid opinion polls.” She closed with a priority that sounded like an instruction to look past the numbers: “There is nothing more paramount than ensuring this rogue regime cannot threaten our country with a nuclear weapon.”.
The polling pressure didn’t begin and end with disapproval. New surveys showed Trump’s approval rating had fallen to 37%, while 64% of Americans oppose the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran. At the same time, negotiations between Washington and Tehran have still not produced an agreement.
Backlash moved quickly after the exchange aired, and it spread in clipped quotes across social media. One social media user wrote, “She’s right. Trump doesn’t care what average Americans think.” Another comment read, “Let’s restate that. The president is not making decisions a large majority want. The nation is of and by the PEOPLE.”.
The same clip also helped revive scrutiny of Trump’s earlier comments about the war’s economic impact. On May 12. before departing for China. Trump told reporters that Americans’ financial struggles are “not even a little bit” of a factor in negotiations involving Iran. In a later interview, Fox News anchor Bret Baier referenced that statement directly, and Trump responded, “That’s right. That’s a perfect statement. I’d make it again.”.
Critics argued the remarks sounded dismissive at a time when many Americans remain concerned about inflation. rising energy costs and uncertainty surrounding the expanding conflict. The Trump administration, however, has continued to argue that limiting Iran’s nuclear ambitions remains its overriding priority.
The sequence of public messaging is hard to miss: when the public reacts with disapproval and opposition tied to the Iran conflict. the White House response—delivered by Kelly during Leavitt’s maternity leave coverage—points back to national security and the claim that the president isn’t making decisions based on polling. even as negotiations between Washington and Tehran still have not produced an agreement.
Anna Kelly Karoline Leavitt White House press secretary Trump approval rating Iran war U.S.-Israeli campaign polling national security Martha MacCallum Fox News Bret Baier February 28 attacks nuclear weapon negotiations