Most Americans Doubt Trump Can Outdo Obama's Iran Deal, Poll Reveals

A new Washington Post-Ipsos poll finds only 23% of Americans believe Trump will secure a better Iran nuclear deal than Obama did in 2015, while 37% expect a worse outcome.

New survey data shows a majority of Americans do not believe President Donald Trump will manage to strike a better nuclear agreement with Iran than the one Barack Obama negotiated in 2015. Since the Iran war began, Trump has leaned heavily on one message to justify the conflict to the public. He has argued repeatedly that Obama’s nuclear deal was a failure and that his own approach will deliver something far stronger.

According to a report from CNN News, Trump has brought up Obama’s deal more than three dozen times since fighting started. But a new Washington Post-Ipsos poll suggests that argument is falling flat with the public.

Support is shaky even within Trump’s own party. Just 54% of Republicans think he’ll pull off a better deal. That confidence is concentrated almost entirely among his strongest supporters. Among voters who identify as MAGA Republicans, 70% expect a better outcome. Republicans outside that MAGA base are nearly split down the middle, with 27% siding with Trump and 23% favouring Obama’s original deal.

Independents are the least convinced of all. Only 13% of that group believes Trump will come out ahead of Obama.

The fact people are even less confident in Trump’s version says something significant, given how poorly the original deal tested with the public at the time.

In a Monday appearance on Fox News, Trump went further, calling the 2015 pact “the worst agreement that has been signed by this country.”

READ MORE: Trump’s Strongest Supporters Now a Shrinking Minority, Data Shows

Despite that scale of investment, Americans appear to trust the deal Obama achieved without firing a shot more than the one Trump is still chasing through military conflict.

The newest survey also points to worsening political fallout for Trump on this issue. It found that 68% of Americans now say the Iran war wasn’t worth fighting, a higher rate of opposition than was recorded for the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. Trump’s overall disapproval rating on his handling of Iran has risen to 69 percent, and the number is climbing as the midterm elections approach.

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