Young Republicans more skeptical of Iran war, dividing Trump base
In casting his ballot for President Donald Trump, Alabama resident Gray Holland said a big factor was his belief that Trump would avoid another war in the Middle East.
“He really ran on the concept of no wars,” Holland said.
Now the U.S. is at war with Iran and Holland, a 25-year-old Republican from Birmingham who works in sales for a flooring manufacturer said he’s not happy with the president’s decision.
Latest photos capture US and Israeli strikes against Iran
“I’d rather not be involved in another foreign war with Iran or whoever else it may be in the Middle East at the time,” Holland said. “I just think we need to stay out of it and worry about ourselves.”
Polls show most Americans disapprove of the Iran war, and while older Republicans have largely stood behind Trump, younger ones are much more likely than their elders to oppose it.
A Pew Research Center survey released last month found that less than half – 49% - of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents age 18 to 29 approve of Trump’s handling of Iran.
Overall, 69% of Republicans and those who lean Republican approve of how Trump is handling the Iran conflict, with support increasing by age, according to the Pew survey. Among Republicans and Republican leaners 65 and older, 84% approve of Trump's record on Iran, while 79% approve in the 50 to 64 age group and 60% among those 30 to 49.
Among all Americans, the poll found that just 37% support Trump's approach to Iran.
Facing deep skepticism about the war at home, Trump has pushed to end the conflict, announcing a ceasefire April 7 and negotiations in Pakistan to find a permanent settlement. The ceasefire appears to be on shaky ground, though, as both sides accuse the other of not abiding by the agreement. The prospect of more fighting remains, an outcome that could further divide Republicans heading into the November midterm election.
“Diminished” opinion of Trump
Trump made gains with young voters in his successful 2024 campaign, winning 39% of voters under 30 compared with 35% in 2020.
But now some of his younger supporters are growing disillusioned by his decision to launch a war that they think violates his campaign promises. "I'm not going to start a war. I'm going to stop wars," Trump said on election night in 2024.
Trump campaigned as a staunch critic of previous U.S. wars in the Middle East and lately has been accused of betrayal by some who subscribed to his anti-interventionist, “America First” pledges.
Prominent Trump supporters such as podcaster Joe Rogan, whose large audience includes many younger men, have been critical of the Iran war.
“It just seems so insane based on what he ran on,” said Rogan, who endorsed Trump in 2024. “I mean, this is why a lot of people feel betrayed, right?”
Holland said Trump’s campaign rhetoric about Middle East conflicts was “at the forefront of one of my decisions to vote for him.”
“I just thought we should stay out of anything over there at the time, and I thought he would do it, and he hasn’t,” Holland said. “So it’s definitely diminished my opinion of him.”
Some young Republicans told USA TODAY they're concerned about the cost-of-living and would rather see Trump focus on economic issues than Iran. Holland pointed to the cost of housing.
“There’s so many other problems at home we need to focus on other than Iran,” Holland said.
'I have huge issues with it'
Nevada Republican Morgan Kern said her top concern is providing for her family.
“We most definitely need to protect the American people… but sending young men and women over to fight a war is not top in my list of priorities,” said Kern, who works in insurance.
Kern, 46, voted for Trump. She has personal reasons to be concerned about the war.
“I have huge issues with it just because I have two children in the military, I would rather them not have to go to war,” she said.
Kern is not sure if the war was justified, she doesn’t feel like she has enough information. But she questioned the threat Iran posed.
“I’m most definitely not for it until I feel that we are really threatened,” she said, adding: “I don’t feel that we’re super-threatened as of yet.”
Most Republicans support Trump on Iran
Even as many younger Republicans and some prominent MAGA voices fret about Iran, the GOP base is still largely behind Trump on the war.
The demographic divide within the GOP on Iran is mirrored in the larger population. Just 19% of all U.S. adults age 18 to 34 say they approve of how Trump is handling Iran, compared with 41% of adults 45 and older, according to a CNN/SSRS survey. A survey by The Economist/YouGov found that only 13% of adults age 18 to 29 support the war.
Dartmouth professor Jeff Friedman noted that younger voters grew up with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, conflicts that the public became disenchanted with.
“I think that really cast a pall over public attitudes towards military force,” said Friedman, who studies the politics around foreign policy.
Older voters saw the U.S. “win the Cold War and decisively win the 1991 Gulf War,” Friedman added. Older Republicans also came of age at a time when the GOP was “more committed to a robust military presence abroad,” he said.
Republican Vernon Sommers, 62, said so far the “positive outweighs the negative” for him when it comes to Iran.
“From my perspective it seems like it had to be done because they weren't relenting on their desire to make a nuclear weapon,” added Sommers, a retired former masonry company owner in Sarasota, Florida, who voted for Trump.
Minnesota Republican Jessica Stawarski, 43, voted for Trump three times and continues to support him. She trusts the administration on the Iran war, although she has concerns about a protracted conflict.
“I know he ran on no forever wars and no stupid wars, so I feel like there must be a good reason for it,” said Stawarski, a Waite Park resident who works for a salvage yard.
“If it goes longer... then I’ll be a little more hesitant to support it but as of right now I do support the administration,” she added.
Sommers acknowledged that if the war drags on it could hurt the GOP, pointing to spiking gas prices.
"It doesn't matter if it's the Democrats or the Republicans in office, if you have things going wrong with the economy that seems to be one of the biggest drivers of people going to the polls and wanting change," he said.
Any erosion in Trump’s GOP support could add to the party’s already considerable challenges heading into the midterm election. Democrats won a series of electoral victories in 2025 and 2026 that have raised questions about whether a blue wave is building.
“We live in this country where the electoral margins are razor thin… if this is the kind of thing that swings public opinion for the Republican Party by half a percentage point that can be decisive,” Friedman said.
Holland said the Iran conflict is on his mind ahead of the election.
“It definitely makes me less excited to vote,” he said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Republicans are divided by age in support for Trump's Iran war
CBS News poll finds few see U.S. goals being met in Iran yet
Amid talks and a ceasefire, the Iran war looks like unfinished business to many Americans.
That's because there are things they call important for the U.S. to do — including opening the Strait of Hormuz for oil access, ensuring the Iranian people are free and permanently stopping Iran's nuclear programs — that they don't feel have been done yet.
So, in describing their feelings about the conflict of late, Americans pick worry, stress and anger far more than feeling safe or confident.
Big and bipartisan majorities feel it's important for the U.S. to do these things:
But huge majorities say either that they aren't done, or it's too soon to know, including for some of those top items.
Amid talks, a majority also expresses what they don't want to happen — that it would be unacceptable to leave the current Iranian regime in place — and also unacceptable to allow a nuclear program under international supervision.
In summary, most Americans continue to say the conflict is not going well. That view hasn't improved in recent weeks.
And in a similar vein, if it were to end now, relatively few call the war a success so far, either in terms of military objectives or U.S. strategic interests. For many, it's too soon to say — another indication that they aren't seeing the goals met yet.
President Trump
And there's uncertainty in part because most don't think President Trump has a clear plan for it all.
That said, most Republicans think he does, and most continue to have confidence in his decisions on Iran.
Views on this are highly partisan, but also related to whether people think the administration has explained the goals or not — which most still don't think has happened.
Among those who don't feel it's clear, most think the lack of clarity comes from changing the list of goals.
When presented with the president's full statement, a big majority of Americans said they'd already seen or read at least something about Mr. Trump's recent Truth Social post that mentioned Iran's civilization as his deadline approached. Most said they disliked it, at least somewhat. Non-MAGA Republicans disliked it more than liked it, too.
It gets relatively more favor — though hardly widespread — from MAGA Republicans. They tend to say Mr. Trump's posts involve negotiating strategy at least as much as any actual intentions. Relatively fewer MAGA Republicans say they solely reflect what the president really intended to do.
Trump's job ratings
Gas prices loom over Americans' views of the economy, Mr. Trump's handling of it, and Iran as well.
Start with Iran: Mr. Trump's approval on it has ticked a bit lower now. Young Americans are the age group giving him the lowest marks on Iran.
He does still get strong ratings on Iran from Republicans. (Though not his strongest within the party — that issue is still immigration.)
Americans continue to note higher gas prices. Ratings of the nation's economy remain low, and when asked what's most shaping their views on it, gas prices are an even bigger factor than earlier this year.
That's led to Mr. Trump's approval numbers for the economy and inflation, as well as his overall job approval, ticking down slightly; they have been negative for months and are now at the lowest levels of this term.
That includes a slight drop among Republicans for his handling of inflation, specifically. For context, among Republicans, that approval is 20 points lower than how they rate him on immigration.
People for whom gas prices are a financial difficulty are especially negative about the president's handling of inflation and the economy.
Regarding the war, Republicans do voice feelings like confident and proud, in contrast to those other more negative feelings — like worried and angry — expressed by Democrats and independents.
Congress
Looking ahead, as Congress returns, most Democrats and independents want Congress to take a vote against authorizing any further military action in Iran.
Republicans, who widely approve of the war, would prefer either to see an outright authorization vote on the war, or to simply leave decisions to Mr. Trump.
This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,387 U.S. adults interviewed between April 8-10, 2026. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to gender, age, race, and education, based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.4 points.