77% Of Americans Agree Republicans’ War To Make Gas Expensive Was A Bad Use Of Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars

Whether expensive gas broke your budget or not, it still sucks any time the price of something you need suddenly gets way more expensive than it was. Especially when we live in a country like the U.S., where driving to work is still a necessity for so many. That doesn’t change just because of party affiliation, either. Republican politicians may have thrown their support behind Trump likely spending more than $100,000,000,000 to attack Iran, but the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll found that less than one in four voters says we’re in a better position now than before the war.

In a survey that took place June 18-22, a mere 35% of voters said the U.S. is in a weaker position with Iran, which is roughly 50% higher than the 23% who said the U.S. is in a stronger position. Meanwhile, 16% said things are about the same and 25% said they didn’t know. To put it another way, less than one in four Americans surveyed thought the war was worth it. For every one person still claiming the war was a good idea, at least three others disagree. Even if you’ve never been popular in your life, you’ve probably never been that unpopular. 

Democratic voters, of course, had the lowest view of the war, with 62% saying the U.S. is weaker now versus 6% who said stronger (13% said about the same and 19% didn’t know), while Republicans were the most supportive. But Republicans were more divided than you might expect. A little more than half (52%) said the U.S. is now stronger after blowing up a little girls’ school with a Tomahawk missile, while 12% said we’re weaker, and the remaining 36% split evenly between “similar” and “don’t know.” As for voters who claim to be independent, 34% said they don’t know (because, of course), and another 34% said “weaker,” and only 14% said they think the U.S. is now stronger.

Republican politicians put little effort into selling the war to the American people, and the memorandum of understanding Trump negotiated to tentatively bring the war to a halt has received bipartisan criticism, especially over promises to send Iran $300 billion to rebuilt. So it makes sense that a lot of voters would have doubts the alleged peace deal will last. Still, looking at the latest Reuters/Ipsos survey results, it’s a little hard to believe how few voters said the peace deal would hold. Overall, 63% said they thought we’d end up back at war again, while 18% trust Trump when he says it’s all over. 

Among Democrats, only 10% said the deal will hold, while 78% pressed X to doubt. As usual, independents contained the largest percentage who said they don’t know (29%), but the percentage who expect the deal to hold was only 11%, leaving 60% of independents assuming it’s only a matter of time before the deal falls apart. Even the majority of Republicans voters don’t expect lasting peace, with 34% answering “yes,” and 52% saying “no.” The same survey also found Trump’s overall approval rating has now fallen to 34% against 64% disapproval.

This war will certainly play a huge role in the midterms, but even beyond politics and election results, one of the biggest questions remaining is how much four years with two wars that made gas expensive will change American drivers’ buying habits. Over the last several months, more U.S. buyers have turned to EVs. Slate just announced a sub-$25,000 MSRP on its new electric truck, and Rivian began production of its more-affordable R2. But will that renewed interest in EVs fade or last? Much like whether Trump’s peace deal will fall apart or not, the only way to find out is to watch what happens.