Progressive Politics

In the days after George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq, the war was a hit with the American public. A Gallup poll conducted in March 2003 found 72 percent support for the shock-and-awe attack.

Bush and his war were the beneficiaries of what political scientists call the “rally ’round the flag” effect — the historical tendency of Americans to back their leaders in times of conflict.

Donald Trump’s presidency might mark the end of that dynamic.

In the aftermath of his attack on Venezuela, three flash polls conducted by separate outlets found that more Americans oppose the war than support it. Support for the war is sharply split along party lines. Only about a third of Americans support it.

The underwater polling for Trump’s war is a result of a polarized electorate, the president’s hyper-partisan governing style, the lack of an attempt to push Congress and the public to back the war, and the absence of any 9/11-style tragedy that could have been used to justify the attack, observers said.