Why Trump still needs to sell Iran war to U.S. voters
CBC
U.S. President Donald Trump has given Americans a short list of his objectives in attacking Iran, but when it comes to the justification for launching the war and how the conflict is expected to play out, he and his team are sending mixed messages.
"We will easily prevail," Trump declared Monday at the White House during a military Medal of Honor ceremony.
Moments later, the president suggested he's prepared to keep U.S. troops fighting if it doesn't end quickly.
"We projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that," Trump said. "Whatever the time is, it's OK. Whatever it takes."
With the conflict still in its earliest days, a pair of polls conducted after the airstrikes began suggest Trump still has plenty of work to do to sell it to the American people.
A poll for Reuters conducted by polling firm Ipsos found just 27 per cent of Americans who responded said they approved of the strikes on Iran. Meanwhile, 43 per cent said they disapproved and the rest were not sure. The online poll was conducted Saturday and Sunday with 1,282 U.S. adults from a nationally representative panel.
A poll for CNN conducted by polling firm SSRS found 41 per cent of respondents approved of the decision to take military action against Iran, while 59 per cent disapproved. The poll was conducted via text message with 1,004 adults from a nationally representative panel.
The war comes with Trump's overall approval rating slumping, as November's crucial midterm elections that will determine control of Congress creep closer.
Wars confronting a clear threat to the U.S. have, in the past, often created a rally-round-the-flag effect that boosted the political fortunes of presidents.
However, the polls suggest it's far from clear that the Iran war is having such an effect for Trump, even in the short term. If the conflict drags on through the spring, all bets are off — particularly for a president who came to power pledging not to start new wars.
Republican strategist Jason Roe says for Trump, the political risk of the war depends directly on its outcome.
"If we break Iran without terrorist attacks coming to America or harm coming to allies in the region, it will be a political win for Trump," Roe told Politico on the weekend.
"If this expands into a protracted conflict, or ends up with troops on the ground, it will be a liability," he said.
Debate is swirling about how protracted the conflict could be and whether the U.S. will have to put troops on the ground to achieve its objectives.
