CNN had to interrupt its regular broadcast Tuesday for breaking news that landed like a gut punch for the White House not from the battlefield, but from the ballot box, so to speak.
Chief data reporter Harry Enten walked viewers through the latest survey numbers on Trump's handling of the Iran conflict, and the picture wasn't pretty. Back in early March, the president's net approval on the war already sat at minus 14. Fast forward to now, and according to a fresh Washington Post poll, that number has plunged all the way to minus 40.
"Look how far down we are now. Right into the Red Sea," Enten said, describing the drop in blunt terms. He told viewers he'd combed through every poll he could find, and this Washington Post figure marked the lowest net approval rating recorded for Trump on the Iran war throughout the entire conflict. His takeaway: the war was never popular to begin with, and it's only lost more support as time has gone on. He summed it up as a historically bad number 40 points underwater is not a place many presidents want to be.
The War Grinds On
While the poll numbers were making headlines stateside, the actual fighting showed no signs of letting up. Late Tuesday, US forces launched their 11th consecutive night of strikes on Iranian territory. US Central Command said the goal of the ongoing campaign is to keep chipping away at Iran's capacity to threaten commercial vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz a narrow but critical waterway that a huge share of the world's oil traffic passes through.
Iranian state media reported that air defense systems were switched on over Tehran as the strikes unfolded. Explosions were also reported in several other parts of the country, including the northwestern city of Tabriz, the southeastern ports of Chabahar and Konarak, and Bushehr in the south home to Iran's only nuclear power facility.
Ceasefire Collapse and Rising Tensions
The two countries had actually reached a ceasefire agreement back in April, but it didn't survive long. Hostilities reignited last week as both sides jockeyed for control over the Strait of Hormuz, and things have escalated steadily since. Iran has already struck back at US forces and allied nations across the region, and Tehran issued fresh threats of retaliation after Trump signaled the US was preparing to hit an underground nuclear site near Natanz.
What It Means for Trump
Between the military escalation and the collapsing poll numbers, the president is facing pressure on two fronts at once. A war that started out unpopular with American voters has, according to Enten's analysis, only grown more unpopular the longer it drags on and with strikes continuing night after night and no clear end in sight, that political pressure doesn't appear to be easing up anytime soon.
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