Most Americans feel less safe and want Congress to limit Trump's war powers after he killed Iran's top general
- After President Donald Trump ordered a deadly strike on Iran's most important military leader, most Americans (55%) feel less safe, according to a new USA Today/Ipsos poll.
- The poll also found that a majority of Americans (53%) support Congress taking action to limit Trump's ability to order military strikes or declare war without legislative approval.
- The House on Thursday was set to vote on a resolution designed to limit Trump's ability to take military action against Iran without congressional approval, per the War Powers Act of 1973.
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Though President Donald Trump and his advisers have contended taking out Iran's top general made the US more safe, a majority of Americans do not feel that way, according to a USA Today/Ipsos poll released on Thursday.
The poll found 55% of Americans believe the US drone strike that killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani has made the US less safe - this included nearly a third of Republicans. Only 24% of Americans believe the strike made the country more safe, the poll said, and a majority of Americans (52%) also said Trump's behavior with Iran was "reckless."
The poll also found that 52% of Americans believe the attack would make Iran more likely to develop nuclear weapons, 69% said Iran would be more likely to attack US interests in the Middle East, while 63% said there would be terrorist attacks on the American homeland, and 62% said the US and Iran would go to war.
Since the deadly strike on Soleimani, Iran has withdrawn from the 2015 nuclear deal and retaliated via a missile attack on US and coalition forces in Iraq. There were no casualties in the attack, which contributed to Trump's decision to accept an off-ramp away from a wider conflict that had been extended by Iran following the incident earlier this week. But that does not mean the US-Iran confrontation has ceased to exist.
As House Democrats move to limit Trump's war powers in relation to Iran, the USA Today/Ipsos poll also found that a majority of Americans (53%) support Congress taking action to limit Trump's ability to order military strikes or declare war without legislative approval. This includes 78% of Democrats, 26% of Republicans and 54% of independents.
In terms of the "wisdom" of the strike, the poll found: 42% supported it, 33% opposed it; 25% said they didn't know what to think. And 47% of those surveyed said they believed Trump ordered the strike to take attention away from his impeachment, while 39% did not.
Other polls also revealed more approval than disapproval for the strike, but also showed Americans generally leaned toward wanting more congressional involvement.
According to a Politico/Morning Consult poll released on Wednesday, 47% of Americans approve of Trump's decision to order the strike on Soleimani, while 40% disapprove. That poll also found 49% felt "Trump should have sought congressional approval before moving forward with the airstrike in Baghdad," and 37% said he was "correct to move forward...without congressional approval."
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