President Donald Trump gets fresh warning sign from Republicans as enthusiasm for his handling of Iran softens
President Donald Trump‘s handling of the war with Iran is drawing less intense support from Republican voters, according to an NBC News Decision Desk poll powered by SurveyMonkey. The shift comes as Trump’s overall approval among GOP voters remains comparatively strong less than two months before the midterm elections.
The survey found that the share of Republicans who “strongly approve” of Trump’s handling of the conflict has fallen sharply. While his overall approval rating on the war has remained relatively steady, the intensity of Republican support has weakened considerably.
Republican enthusiasm softens
According to the NBC News poll, 31 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the Iran war, while 69 percent disapprove. Those figures changed little from spring polling, when 33 percent approved and 67 percent disapproved.
Among Republicans, however, the share who strongly approve of Trump’s handling of the conflict fell 18 percentage points to 30 percent. Among self-identified MAGA Republicans, strong approval dropped 21 points to 43 percent.
The decline also extended to Trump’s overall job performance. NBC News reported that the percentage of Republicans who strongly approve of his presidency fell from 52 percent in spring to 41 percent in the survey. It was the first time that figure had fallen below 50 percent in NBC News Decision Desk polling.
Still, overall Republican support remains strong. Eighty percent of Republicans and 93 percent of MAGA supporters approve of Trump’s job performance, according to the poll.
The NBC News Decision Desk poll surveyed 7,105 adults online with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
Overall approval hits a second-term low
The softening on Iran comes as Trump’s broader standing has also weakened.
NBC News data expert Steve Kornacki reported that Trump’s overall job approval in the survey was 36 percent, a second-term low for the network’s polling series. The figure was close to a 33 percent reading recorded the previous month in a separate Reuters poll.
New escalation raises stakes
The NBC News poll was released as tensions between Washington and Tehran escalated again.
U.S. Central Command said American forces struck three Iranian crude oil tankers after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy warships operating in the region. CENTCOM said a U.S. aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer evaded multiple attacks and that no American personnel were harmed.
U.S. forces “permanently disabled” the M/T Downy off Iran’s Kharg Island and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask, according to CENTCOM. A third tanker, the M/T Kylo, was struck in the Gulf of Oman.
CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said in a statement posted to social media, “Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours. We will not hesitate to defend American forces and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.”
The strikes followed weeks of renewed clashes after the collapse of a ceasefire tied to a memorandum of understanding intended to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and establish a framework for negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
The strait remains the primary flashpoint, with roughly one-fifth of globally traded oil normally passing through the waterway.
Speaking on NBC News’ Meet the Press, Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said the war would “probably not” be over by the November midterms. He also acknowledged the political risk to Republicans, saying voters are “not especially happy about the war in Iran” as the party prepares to defend its congressional majorities.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat, said in a press release sent to Newsweek, “From the beginning, this war has had no clear mission, no strategy, no end goal. Congress has not been consulted. And hostilities have been driven over and over again by a president who won his election by promising to end forever wars.”
With Republicans defending their congressional majorities in November, the poll suggests that while Trump’s core support within the GOP remains substantial, enthusiasm for one of the defining foreign policy conflicts of his second term is measurably softening.