Americans’ opposition to the US war in Iran has deepened, according to a new CNN poll, with growing majorities saying the conflict is not being won and that President Donald Trump is not doing enough to end it. The survey, conducted by SSRS, found that nearly two-thirds of respondents said the United States is not winning the conflict. It also showed broad agreement that the war has harmed American interests, has not been worth the costs, and that the president lacks a clear plan for dealing with it. The results come as Trump prepares to address the United Nations and meet Gulf leaders about the future of the Iran conflict. They also arrive as he faces another escalating problem linked to Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen. Approval Falls across Foreign PolicyOverall, 29% of US adults approved of Trump’s handling of foreign affairs, a new low for CNN polling across both of his terms. Some 71% disapproved, with more respondents saying this term’s foreign policy decisions have harmed America’s standing in the world rather than helped it. Trump’s ratings on Iran were worse still. Only 26% approved of his handling of the situation in Iran, down from 33% about a month after the war began. Much of the decline came among Republicans, while Democrats and independents were already consistently negative throughout the conflict. In March, 73% of Republicans approved of Trump’s handling of the Iran war. That figure fell to 60% now. Among Republican and Republican-leaning voters, disapproval moves into the majority for those under 45, with 53% saying they disapprove. It is also higher among those who do not identify as members of the Make America Great Again movement, where 54% disapprove. Republicans were also less positive than earlier this year about the broader impact of Trump’s foreign policy. About half said his decisions have helped the US’ standing globally, down 13 points since March. No Clear Plan, War Seen As Long and CostlyThe poll found that three-quarters of all adults say Trump does not have a clear plan for handling the situation in Iran. Some 78% said he is not doing enough to end the war. Around 7 in 10 respondents said it is at least somewhat likely that the conflict will last long term, with majorities across party lines sharing that view. A third of respondents, 32%, said a long-term war is very likely, the highest share to say so since the conflict began. When asked whether the war has helped or harmed the country’s interests, 70% said it has hurt them, compared with 18% who said it helped. A larger majority, 76%, said the war has not been worth the toll on American lives or the financial burden on the US government. Democrats and independents were nearly unanimous in their negative assessments. Some 97% of Democrats said the war has not been worth its costs, while 82% of independents said the same. Few in either group said Trump was doing enough to bring the fighting to an end. Republicans were more evenly split, with 55% saying the war has been worth its costs and 53% saying Trump is doing enough to end it. Republicans were also far more likely than others to say the US is winning. Some 70% of Republicans said the US is winning, compared with 31% of independents and 13% of Democrats. Trump’s war Cabinet posted weak ratings. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had 40% approval, Vice President JD Vance had 36%, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had 34%. Among Republicans, approval stood higher for all three: Rubio at 81%, Vance at 79% and Hegseth at 72%. The gap reflected some dissatisfaction with Hegseth among non-MAGA members of the GOP coalition, with 58% approving of Hegseth among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who do not support MAGA, compared with 70% for Rubio and 68% for Vance. Shifts on Ukraine, Canada and IsraelThe poll also reported changes in views towards several countries that have been part of Trump’s foreign policy focus. Perceptions of Russia and China remained largely stable from earlier this year, with majorities continuing to describe each as unfriendly or an enemy. It also found a drop in the share who view Ukraine as an ally or friendly, falling from 76% in January to 70% now. Views of Cuba moved in the opposite direction, with 26% describing it as friendly, up from 21% in January. Canada continued to be seen mostly as an ally or friendly country, but fewer respondents described it as an ally. The share fell from 51% in March 2025 to 38% now, with the decline appearing across parties and most pronounced among Republicans, where the drop was larger. On Israel, the share calling it an ally or friendly fell to 61%, while 15% said it was an enemy. That was the highest figure for “enemy” in CNN polling dating to 2000 and roughly double the level recorded in March 2025. The shift was concentrated among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, where 17% described Israel as an enemy, up from 8% in March 2025. Younger respondents were also more likely to view Israel as an enemy, with 23% of those under 45 saying so, compared with 9% about a year and a half ago. CNN’s Ariel Edwards-Levy and Edward Wu contributed to the report. The CNN poll was conducted by SSRS online and by telephone on September 16-17 among a random national sample of 1,206 adults. Results for the full sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Join the discussion? 23 September 2026
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