A new Quinnipiac University national poll released March 9th found that 53% of registered voters oppose the US military campaign against Iran — the operation that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dismantled large portions of Iran’s military infrastructure. Only 40% support it. And the numbers get more dramatic from there: 74% of Americans say they oppose deploying US ground troops into Iran.
The poll, conducted March 6–8 among 1,002 registered voters, comes as President Trump says the conflict will end “very soon,” describing the operation as an “excursion” and declaring, “Everything they have is gone, including their leadership.” Americans are not so sure it will be that clean or that quick.
The Quinnipiac results reveal a chasm that makes any discussion of a unified “American public” almost meaningless. Eighty-five percent of Republicans support the military action. Eighty-nine percent of Democrats oppose it. Independents broke against the operation 60–31.
On the question of whether Iran posed an imminent military threat to the United States before the strikes began, 55% of voters said no. But the breakdown is telling: 83% of Democrats and 63% of independents agreed Iran was not an imminent threat — while 74% of Republicans said it was.
Similarly, [olls by NPR/PBS/Marist (44%–55% against), CBS News (44%–56%), NBC News (41%–54%), The Washington Post (39%–52%), CNN (41%–59%), and Reuters/Ipsos (27%–43%) all found opposition outpacing support. A Fox News poll conducted February 28–March 2 told a different story — Americans were evenly split at 50%–50% — with more than 8 in 10 Republicans approving the use of force.
Whatever Americans think about air strikes, there is near-universal resistance to a ground war. Nearly three-quarters of voters oppose sending US troops into Iran — including 95% of Democrats, 75% of independents, and even 52% of Republicans. That last number is the most striking: a majority of the president’s own party base does not want American soldiers fighting in Iran.
Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have repeatedly declined to rule out the use of ground troops. That position sits badly with the electorate across the board.
Sixty-two percent of voters say the Trump administration has not provided a clear explanation for why the United States launched military action against Iran. Only 35% say it has. Democrats (93%) and independents (71%) lead that skepticism, but even 22% of Republicans say the case hasn’t been made clearly enough.
Fifty-nine percent of voters believe Trump should have obtained Congressional approval before acting. Only 38% disagree.
Americans sense consequences coming. Seventy-seven percent said it is at least “somewhat likely” that the military action will trigger a terrorist attack on US soil. Seventy-four percent are either “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” that the conflict will drive up oil and gasoline prices — a reasonable fear given that roughly 20% of the world’s oil passes through the region.
On the question of duration, the public is decidedly pessimistic. Only 3% think the conflict will last days, and 18% think it will last weeks. Thirty-two percent say months, 13% say about a year, and 26% say longer than that. Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy put it plainly: “How long will it last? Not days, not weeks, but months, maybe longer.”
One poll question focused on supporters of Israel. Forty-four percent of voters now say the United States is “too supportive” of Israel — the highest percentage since Quinnipiac first asked this question in 2017. The previous high was 42%, recorded in June 2025. Meanwhile, only 5% say the US is not supportive enough, and 44% say support is “about right.”
The joint US-Israel strikes that killed Khamenei and more than 40 other Iranian leaders were deemed “justified” by 48% of respondents — but 43% said they were not.
Operation Epic Fury may achieve its military objectives. But if Washington cannot close the gap between what it knows and what it tells the American people, the home front may prove as difficult to hold as the battlefield.
The Quinnipiac University poll was conducted March 6–8, 2026, among 1,002 self-identified registered voters nationwide, with a margin of error of ±3.8 percentage points.
