A majority of independents say they do not agree with President Trump’s handling of Iran amid recent high tensions with the country, according to a new nationwide poll released on Thursday.
The Hill-HarrisX survey found that 54 percent of independent respondents said they “somewhat disapprove” or “strongly disapprove” of Trump’s actions in Tehran. Another 45 percent said they “somewhat approve” or “strongly approve.”
Democrats voiced much stronger opposition to Trump’s Iran policies.
Seventy-nine percent of Democratic respondents said they disapprove of Trump on Iran, compared to just thirteen percent of those polled who identified as Republican.
Voters overall were almost evenly split on the issue, with 51 percent saying they disapproved of Trump on Iran and 49 percent approving.
The U.S. and Iran have appeared to back down after being on the brink of broader military conflict.
Tensions escalated earlier this month after Trump approved a U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Tehran responded to Soleimani’s death by firing missiles at Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops, but there were no reported causalities.
A short time later, a Ukrainian aircraft was shot down shortly after it departed an airport in Tehran, killing all 176 passengers on board. After initially denying responsibility, the country admitted that it unintentionally shot down the passenger jet. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described it as an “unforgivable” mistake and vowed that those responsible would be held accountable.
The Hill-HarrisX survey was conducted among 290 independent voters, 370 Democratic voters and 320 GOP voters. It has a sampling margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The margin of error is higher among partisan voters.
—Tess Bonn
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