---
title: "Nearly 70% of Americans Say the Iran War Is Not Worth Fighting, a Poll Finds"
description: "Lara Trump said the conflict could cost Republicans the midterms, and President Trump replied, “it’s possible”"
author: "rews desk"
published: 2026-10-01T20:49:45Z
modified: 2026-10-02T02:18:21Z
url: https://rews.cc/a/nearly-70-of-americans-say-the-iran-war-is-not-worth-fightin-4369e2
language: en
tags: ["trump", "politics", "iran", "economy", "polls", "us"]
publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)"
---

# Nearly 70% of Americans Say the Iran War Is Not Worth Fighting, a Poll Finds

*Lara Trump said the conflict could cost Republicans the midterms, and President Trump replied, “it’s possible”*

By rews desk · October 1, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/nearly-70-of-americans-say-the-iran-war-is-not-worth-fightin-4369e2

## In brief

- Nearly seven in 10 American adults say the war in Iran has not been worth fighting, per a poll released Thursday
- 69% said the war has not been worth fighting, up five points since July; 71% disapprove of Trump's handling of Iran
- Lara Trump said on Wednesday the conflict could cost Republicans the midterms
- Asked at the White House, Trump said it is "possible" the war could hurt Republicans but argued it "should help"
- Moody's Analytics estimated in June the war cost American households $100 billion in its first three months, nearly $750 each

Nearly seven in 10 American adults say the United States’ war in Iran has not been worth fighting, according to a poll released on Thursday, the same week the president’s daughter-in-law said publicly that the conflict could cost Republicans their congressional majorities in November.

In the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 69 percent of adults said the war has not been worth fighting as the country goes to the polls next month, up five points since July. Seventy-one percent disapprove of how President Trump is handling Iran.

Lara Trump, the former Republican National Committee co-chair who is married to the president’s son Eric, made the midterm call on Wednesday on the YouTube show *Harry Cole Saves the West*, after Mr. Cole suggested the war “could cost him his legacy.” “Well, it could cost him these midterms,” she answered. “I think Donald Trump’s legacy has yet to be written,” she said, adding that she still expected him to go down as one of the country’s greatest presidents. “But you’re right. The last two years really matter.”

Asked about her assessment at the White House on Thursday, the president told reporters it is “possible” the war could hurt Republicans but argued it “should help” because Iran would be kept from a nuclear weapon. “So when you say, ‘Is it OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon?’ I would say 100% of the people say no, including worldwide,” he said. “So when you say it that way, it would help. If you don’t say that, it could hurt.”

Ms. Trump holds no government post, but her words were a rare acknowledgment from inside the president’s circle, which has mostly brushed off the political risk even as his advisers [map an all-out fall campaign against sagging approval](https://rews.cc/a/trump-s-midterm-plan-no-persuasion-just-turnout-and-a-very-b-813f22). Later in the interview she said the president “really hates the way that things have gone with Iran” and wishes “things had more swiftly happened.” Vice President JD Vance, asked in September whether the war would be over by the midterms, said he “wouldn’t call it a war,” praised Operations Midnight Hammer and Epic Fury and said, “You would have to ask the Iranians.”

The selling problem is the bill. Voters are absorbing higher energy prices and inflation driven by the conflict, and in June Moody’s Analytics estimated the war had already cost American households $100 billion in its first three months, nearly $750 a household. The White House did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

## Sources

- [Most Americans say US-Israel war on Iran not worth fighting: Poll](https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/1/most-americans-say-us-israel-war-on-iran-not-worth-fighting-poll) — aljazeera.com
- [Lara Trump said the Iran war could cost Republicans the midterms. Here's how the president responded](https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-iran-war-lara-trump-2026-10) — Business Insider