WAR WEARINESS

Swing State Voters Trash Trump’s ‘Absolutely Stupid’ Move

The Iran war has remained historically unpopular.

Donald Trump is facing mounting backlash in the battleground states that could decide November’s midterm elections, with frustrated voters calling his decision to go to war with Iran “absolutely stupid.”

The war, launched without congressional authorization, has been historically unpopular. Support has stayed below 40 percent since the U.S. and Israel began strikes on Feb. 28—well below the early backing for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Now, voters in key swing states told The Guardian they still do not understand why Trump entered the conflict and fear it could spiral into another endless war.

Terrence Dahmen, a 73-year-old retired voter from Wisconsin, called U.S. involvement “a huge mistake.”

“We weren’t provoked into that fight, and we weren’t attacked,” he told The Guardian. “I saw no reason to go there other than possibly controlling oil somehow.”

Fellow Wisconsin voter Robert Edelstein, who owns a window-tinting business, said the war would shape his vote.

“In the general election, I would automatically vote for anybody that was against the war,” he told the newspaper. “I think it’s the stupidest thing that could ever possibly have happened.”

Comparing the conflict with the Iraq War, he added: “It’s screwed everything up, as we all know... it’s absolutely stupid.”

In Georgia, retired teacher Jimmy Carter, who is not related to the former president, was equally dismissive after watching Trump’s motorcade pass near his old school.

“It’s a dumb--s idea,” he said. “I don’t know who fed him that idea.”

He said the criticism of the war even crossed party lines, adding that his own brother—who voted for Trump—shared the same view.

Polling suggests the confusion extends far beyond a handful of voters. A recent Reuters/Ipsos survey found nearly seven in 10 Americans—including four in 10 Republicans—say Trump has failed to clearly explain the purpose of the war.

Trump has offered changing reasons for the campaign, saying it is meant to topple Iran’s leadership, destroy its missile program or prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

But still, it remains unclear what Trump’s end goal is.

Other voters fear the consequences if the war doesn’t end soon.

Retired Army Maj. Richard Bradley from Georgia, whose son and daughter both serve in the military, told The Guardian that he supported confronting Iran but wanted a clear exit strategy.

“I’d rather fight bad guys in their land instead of mine,” he said. “I kind of take a little bit of an issue with where we’re at now... we need to be figuring out how to finish it up, so it doesn’t turn into another... enduring war.”

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He added that the issue was deeply personal, noting that his father served in the Gulf War and saying he did not “want my kids to fight unfinished business that my generation left.”

Trump supporter Clay Harvison, also from Georgia, said the president should have ended the conflict months ago.

“He should have left it when he had already bombed them,” Harvison said, adding that the prolonged fighting was damaging Trump’s legacy.

The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll found 67 percent of Americans want Trump to end the war now, including 73 percent of independents and 30 percent of Republicans.

Yet many expect it to continue, with 37 percent believing it will last for months and another 32 percent expecting it to drag on for years.

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Those fears have grown since Trump’s ceasefire collapsed. Fighting has resumed, U.S. naval operations around Iran have intensified, and four American service members were killed earlier this month in attacks on bases in Jordan and Iraq, bringing the U.S. death toll to 18 since the campaign began.

Trump responded by vowing on Truth Social that Iran would pay “many times over” for every American killed.

But if fighting continues, there could be more misery ahead for Americans in a war that has already led to a spike in energy prices.

Gas prices have climbed from around $3 a gallon before the conflict to more than $4, squeezing household budgets in key swing states.

Lydia Stone, a 31-year-old logging worker from Maine, told The Guardian that rising fuel costs were making it harder to support her young family.

“It’s been a huge jump in prices, and makes life a lot harder,” she said.

“A huge part of what has been so frustrating... is like the fact my tax dollars are going to fund murdering people, at the same time that it’s cutting social services, it’s cutting SNAP benefits for my neighbors.”

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.

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