Fox News Poll: Modest boost in support for Iran conflict, but concerns persist

As the war in Iran nears the two-month mark, a new Fox News Poll shows a modest uptick in support, though voters remain divided on key aspects of the conflict – especially over its long-term consequences and U.S. safety.

The survey, released Thursday, shows support for the current military action in Iran at 45%, up from 42% support last month.  A majority of 55% oppose it.

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Still, a slim majority thinks things are going well in Iran (51% well vs. 49% not well), a flip from March when voters said the action was not going well (47% vs. 52%).

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The bump in support for the war can be mostly attributed to non-MAGA Republicans (+11 points in support), Hispanic voters (+10), men over age 45 (+8), and independents (+5).

Looking at the likely effect on security, voters still narrowly say the action will make the U.S. less safe (36% safer, 39% less safe, 25% no difference). However, this gap has narrowed since March (33%, 44%, 23% respectively).

Voters are also not convinced the costs of the war are worth it. A 57% majority believes the action will not improve U.S. safety enough to justify the problems it has created, while 43% say the short-term problems will be worth it in the long run.

Although voters across the board express skepticism, partisan differences are stark. Roughly 3 in 10 Republicans, 7 in 10 independents, and 8 in 10 Democrats, think improved safety does not justify the challenges.

The most important objectives for voters are avoiding a prolonged conflict and keeping the Strait of Hormuz open (80% say it is extremely or very important for each). Majorities also think it’s extremely or very important to end Iran’s nuclear weapons program (72%), support the people of Iran (65%) and bring about changes to Iran’s government (55%).

The top objective for Democrats and independents is avoiding a prolonged conflict, while for Republicans it’s ending Iran’s nuclear program.

Six in 10 (59%) rate the performance of the U.S. military in the conflict as excellent (32%) or good (27%), about where sentiment was last month (58% excellent/good).

More than 5 in 10 independents (53%) and 8 in 10 Republicans (81%) rate the military positively, while just 4 in 10 Democrats agree (40%).

“One of the more remarkable statistics attesting to the country’s intense polarization is that when asked about the U.S. military’s performance in Iran, by 20 percentage points Democrats rate it negatively, and it’s difficult to proffer an explanation other than those who dislike President Trump are unwilling to say anything positive about anything he touches,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who works on Fox News polls with Democrat Chris Anderson.

Among those who have served in the military, support for the current action in Iran has dipped slightly (down 4 points since March), but a majority still supports it (57%), thinks things are going well (65%), rates the military positively (78% excellent/good) and half think the military action will make the U.S. safer (50%).

Trump said Tuesday the U.S. will extend its ceasefire with Iran, a day before it was set to end and amid a U.S. blockade on Iranian ports. This comes as peace talks in Pakistan involving Vice President JD Vance were delayed as Iran has not committed to participating yet. The survey was conducted April 17-20.

When asked to rate how tough Trump has been on Iran, more voters say he’s been too tough (40%), rather than not tough enough (28%) or about right (30%).

The 40% saying Trump is too tough is up from 18% in May 2019 (the last time the question was asked) – mainly driven by Democrats and independents thinking he’s too tough now.

When it comes to the president’s approach to China, however, results are reversed: 21% say he’s too tough, 40% not tough enough, and 38% about right.  

More broadly, Trump’s job performance on foreign policy is underwater by 20 points (40% approve, 60% disapprove).  He does slightly better on his handling of China (42%, 57%) but worse on Iran (37%, 63%).

His overall job rating sits at 42% approve and 58% disapprove, about where it was last month (41%-59%).

Some Cabinet officials are also facing headwinds in their job performance. Vance’s net approval rating is -11 points (44% approve – 55% disapprove) and down from -8 in December.

Sec. of State Rubio’s net approval rating is -12, down from -5, which is the steepest decline in the Cabinet (44% approve, 56% disapprove).

Sec. of War Hegseth’s rating ticked up 2 points to -17, but he remains the lowest rated of the three (41% approve, 58% disapprove).

Iran is not the only foreign policy issue where voters are divided. They are split on U.S. support of Israel, as 40% say it’s too supportive, another 40% about right, and 19% say not supportive enough.

At 40%, the share saying the U.S. is too supportive is the highest since 2023, up from 35% the last time the question was asked in September 2025.

Democrats under age 45 (+9 points saying too supportive since 2025) and Republicans under age 45 (+7), are increasingly more likely to feel the U.S. is too supportive of Israel.  Republicans ages 45+ have the highest share of those who think support is about right (70%) while Democrats ages 45+ say too supportive (57%).

The largest share of Protestants (45%), Catholics (44%), and White Catholics (48%) say support is about right.

On Ukraine, 39% of voters say the U.S. should be doing more to support them against Russia, 26% say less and 34% feel the U.S. is doing the right amount. This is close to where sentiment has been since last summer. 

One more thing…

Trump is a frequent poster on social media, and a majority of voters see these posts as instant reactions to current events (65%) rather than strategic efforts to accomplish goals (34%).

Still, the number viewing them as strategic is up 15 points since 2018, when only 19% said his tweeting had a broader purpose.  At that time, 28% of Republicans felt his tweeting was strategic compared to the 52% who feel that way about his social media posts today. That compares with smaller increases among independents (+13 points) and Democrats (+4).

Conducted April 17-20, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,001 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (116) and cellphones (635) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (250). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data.