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A war the public didn’t ask for

Rising fuel prices in the US cut across party lines in a way that military strategy does not

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    • About 45% of Americans are “extremely” or “very” concerned about being able to afford petrol in the next few months, up from 30% shortly after Trump won re-election. 
    • About 45% of Americans are “extremely” or “very” concerned about being able to afford petrol in the next few months, up from 30% shortly after Trump won re-election.  PHOTO: REUTERS

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    Leon Hadar

    Published Mon, Apr 13, 2026 · 04:34 PM

    WHEN the US and Israel jointly launched military strikes against Iran on Feb 28, the American public’s reaction was swift – and largely negative. Weeks later, that disapproval has not softened.

    If anything, it has hardened into something more troubling for the Trump administration: a broad, sustained and cross-demographic scepticism about whether this war was wise, necessary or winnable.

    A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late March found that nearly six in 10 Americans disapprove of US President Donald Trump’s handling of the Iran conflict, and 59 per cent believe the decision to use military force was wrong. 

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