News themezone poll of Americans

In the survey completed just before the news of the US airstrikes against Iranmost Americans thought the United States should at least pressure or engage Iranian leaders in some way.

And in the days before the attacks began, there were moves toward approving US military action specifically to prevent them from making nuclear weapons; that change came later President Trump’s State of the Union Address earlier this week, February 24th.

The effect of this was that the nation arrived divided at the beginning of the conflict.

The public had expressed a collective uncertainty about how long it would last conflict with iran would last. Many thought it would last months or even years, rather than just days or weeks. Supporters tended to think it would be brief.

That sets some context as it plays out now.

Opinions about the duration of a potential conflict were closely related to whether Americans said they would support military action or not: those who thought the conflict would be quick tended to favor military action (before it began), but those who thought it would take a long time were opposed.

Regarding the Iranian ruling regime, to remove it he preferred economic or diplomatic pressure from the United States, rather than military force. Either way, a substantial majority of Americans thought the United States should participate in some way.

People overwhelmingly thought that Congress would need to approve military action.

The number of Americans who felt that the president had explained the US position increased slightly after the State of the Unionbut at the beginning of the action it had still not satisfied the vast majority of Americans.

Before the attacks, the president’s approval of his handling of Iran was slightly higher than his overall approval, although it remained strongly negative.

To put it in context, in News themezone polls going back decades, Iran or its potential nuclear capabilities have been seen as somewhat of a threat in the public mind, albeit often one that many felt could be contained or addressed diplomatically. Last summer, when the United States carried out Airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilitieshis views were partisan and most Republicans approved of them.

The American economy

The optimism about the economy that the president expressed in the State of the Union is not shared by most Americans.

Expectations for next year are for a slowdown in the economy, or even a recession, and that has been the case for a while. US Overall Ratings economy will continue to be net negative.

In fact, a sizable majority still think the president describes things related to inflation as better than they really are.

Before the attacks on Iran, Trump’s approval ratings were in line with where they were just before his State of the Union address. His overall approval had been fairly stable in recent weeks and up one point from just before the State of the Union.

This News themezone/YouGov poll was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,264 American adults interviewed between February 25 and 27, 2026. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide based on gender, age, race and education, based on the US Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as the 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.5 points.

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