Trump’s polling on Iran is a mixed bag — here’s how he can turn things around

The approval polling on Iran is all over the map. Not surprisingly, Democrats hate what President Trump is doing. But Democratic voters hate everything about Trump. If Trump cured cancer, approval for cancer would skyrocket.  

In fact, the political fallout on Iran will be the same as for any foreign adventure by any president. If it works, Trump will benefit. If it doesn’t, he’ll pay a steep price. 

At the time of writing, the RealClearPolitics average approval of military action in Iran is net-negative 4.7 points, but that’s nearly 8 points better than Trump’s overall RCP average approval. Among the most recent polls, Morning Consult has Trump 7 points better on Iran as opposed to his overall approval. The YouGov poll, a Trump-unfavorable poll, has the president 1 point better. RMG Research, a Trump-favorable poll, has Trump 7 points worse. 

What boosts Trump — and has not been reported hardly at all in the media — is widespread and long-standing antipathy for the murderous, theocratic Iranian regime. Recent polling has Iran right next to the least-liked country, North Korea. And this is nothing new. 

In the aftermath of the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear weapons program, YouGov found 78 percent of Americans considered Iran “unfriendly” or an “enemy” (58 percent said “enemy”), with a mere 4 percent calling Iran a “friend” or “ally.” That result was 3 points higher than Russia and 6 points higher than China. However, the intensity was higher, with Iran scoring 10 points higher than Russia as an “enemy” and 22 points higher than China. In addition, 59 percent of Americans considered Iran’s nuclear program an “immediate” or “somewhat serious threat,”........

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