Opinion
By Karl Rove
President Trump’s decision to unleash Operation Epic Fury against the Iranian regime was a historic act. The U.S. and Israel decapitated the Iranian government in a hail of precision-guided weapons, before obliterating what little remained of the country’s air defenses after last year’s attack on its nuclear facilities.
Now the U.S. and Israel are decimating Iran’s military facilities. They’re destroying its capacity to build missiles and, reportedly, drones. They’re savaging the Revolutionary Guard’s bases and depots. They’re providing the beleaguered citizens of that once-prosperous country hope that better days might be ahead.
The effort has showcased military and intelligence brilliance and gutsy leadership. It began with the American president and the Israeli prime minister. It has continued with leaders of half a dozen Middle Eastern and eastern Mediterranean countries.
Despite all this, the White House must deal with two stark realities: No one knows how this will end, and the war against the mullahs in Tehran isn’t popular at home.
Only time will tell if leaders in the White House, State Department, National Security Council, Central Intelligence Agency and Defense Department have devised ways to bring about a new Iranian leadership that renounces terrorism against the West. The military campaign’s brilliance so far does suggest that the good guys have a plan to prevail.
But the lack of domestic support needs attention. Seven national polls conducted between last Saturday and Tuesday asked Americans if they approved of the military action. The RealClearPolitics average of these surveys found that 41.3% of those polled approved while 48.7% opposed going after Iran.
No rally-’round-the-flag effect there. Support for the president and his policy didn’t get a patriotic boost when the shooting started. Not even as U.S. planes, warships and fighters successfully pounded the leaders of a country that has chanted “Death to America” for some 47 years and backed that threat by spending the country’s oil riches to support terrorism across the globe.
There are, however, two factors in recent polls that should give Team Trump some solace and, more important, encouragement that they must act now to address this issue.
First, the results are often affected by how the inquiry is posed. A Feb. 27 CBS poll asked if Americans would favor “U.S. military action against Iran to stop them from making nuclear weapons.” The answer was 51% yes, 49% no.
That’s 10 points better than the results of asking, “What is your view of the U.S. decision to take military action in Iran?” as CNN did in its March 1 poll. The response to that broke 41% approve, 59% disapprove.
If the administration and others remind Americans of Iranian efforts to develop nuclear weapons, support will likely rise—as the second positive polling point also suggests.
The data suggest that public opinion about the military campaign against Iran isn’t as solid as it is on other White House policies.
In the CNN poll, 16% strongly approve of Mr. Trump’s decision “to take military action in Iran,” while 31% strongly disapprove. More than half of respondents only “somewhat” approve or disapprove.
By comparison, the Feb. 27 CBS poll found 23% strongly approve of Mr. Trump’s presidency generally, while 47% strongly disapprove. That left 30% whose opinion was only “somewhat” approve or disapprove. If given the choice of qualifying their level of support or opposition, people tend to have more definitive opinions on longstanding issues that are top of mind than they do on Iran.
This suggests the White House must spend more time explaining its actions in Iran and why they’re important to Americans’ interests. That could cause some who hold wish-washy opinions to move into the president’s corner.
This can’t be just left to the eight-minute Truth Social video the president posted early Saturday morning or to a few brief calls by him to journalists.
Congressional Republicans did a credible job of supporting the president’s action on the Sunday morning talk shows. But the defense of the administration’s actions in Iran needs more comprehensive, persistent, credible explanations of the objectives from the president and his top people. These must be offered in all possible venues and channels if he’s to sway public opinion. That’s important. For what Abraham Lincoln said is still true: “Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; against it, nothing can succeed.”
The column by Mr. Rove, courtesy of rove.com, was first published in The Wall Street Journal.
Karl Rove served as Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush from 2000–2007 and Deputy Chief of Staff from 2004–2007. At the White House he oversaw the Offices of Strategic Initiatives, Political Affairs, Public Liaison, and Intergovernmental Affairs and was Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, coordinating the White House policy-making process. Notably, Mr. Rove was known as “The Architect” of President Bush’s 2000 and 2004 winning campaigns.