Over the past few months, tensions between the United States and Iran have been steadily rising, and the conflict escalated on February 28, 2026, when the US officially launched airstrikes on Iranian targets. Since Donald Trump returned to the presidency in January 2025, the US has launched attacks in seven countries: Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Venezuela, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia. While the rationale for why the escalation was needed has been a little all over the place, Trump’s administration officials generally say the strikes are specifically about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its threats of retaliation if its program is stopped.
The big question is, how do Americans feel about these events? While it’s been less than a week since the initial bombings, the numbers are fairly clear: so far, a majority of Americans do not support the approach the Administration is taking. Currently, 37% of Americans approve of the strikes, 58% disapprove, and the rest aren’t sure.
Key Takeaways:
🔴🔵Political Divide: Not shockingly, the numbers reveal a deep political divide. Democrats overwhelmingly disapprove of the strikes (90%), and barely anyone in this cohort supports them (9%). Republicans, on the other hand, mostly back the action (64% support, 28% oppose). Independents fall somewhere in the middle, with opinions split fairly evenly (42% support, 50% disapprove, 7% unsure).
- ➗➗Racial Divisions: Race also plays a role in how Americans view the strikes so far. Black Americans tend to support the actions taken so far (55%), while White Americans mostly oppose it (61% disapprove). Hispanic Americans are somewhat in the middle, with 39% supporting and 59% disapproving. It will be interesting to see if these differences continue and if we can ascertain why there is such a high level of support from Black Americans.
- 👵👶Generational Split: Overall, views on Trump’s decision to bomb Iran vary significantly by age. Younger voters are much more likely to disapprove, with 65% of those aged 18-34 and 73% of 35-44-year-olds opposing the decision. Attitudes shift among older Americans, where opinion becomes much more divided; among middle-aged voters (those 45-54), disapproval still outweighs approval, but by a smaller margin (55% to 35%). Voters 55-64 are almost evenly split (47% approve, 46% disapprove), and those 65 and older remain closely divided as well (46% approve, 49% disapprove). One particularly interesting detail is that voters aged 35-44 show the highest level of disapproval, even more than the youngest group. While younger voters are often assumed to be the most critical of the military, older Millennials are leading the opposition at this time.
