Americans are increasingly bleak about their own finances as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran continues into another week of an uneasy ceasefire, an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel finds.
As gas prices have reached a four-year high because of the war, half of Americans expect gas prices to increase even more in the next year, 4 in 10 say they are not as well off as they were when President Donald Trump returned to the White House and nearly a quarter say they are falling behind financially.
Most Americans say that using the U.S. military against Iran was a mistake, are not confident that an agreement with Iran will prevent them from developing nuclear weapons and say that U.S. military action in Iran has increased the risk of terrorism against Americans.
In this photo taken with a slow shutter speed, traffic moves past a sign for a Mobil gas station on April 29, 2026, in Portland, Ore.
Jenny Kane/AP
And a large majority of Americans — including a slim majority of Republicans — had a negative reaction to Trump’s social media post earlier this month saying that “A whole civilization will die tonight.”
Economy
An increasing share of Americans say they are falling behind financially and not as well off as they were when Trump became president in 2025, echoing other recent polling.
The ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll finds 40% of adults saying they are not as well off financially as they were when Trump became president in 2025, up from 33% who said the same in a February ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll. About 4 in 10 (42%) say they are doing about the same and only 17% say they are better off, down 5 points from the February poll.
During much of then-President Joe Biden’s term, over 4 in 10 said they were not as well off financially as they were when he became president. Still, the recent share saying they are not as well off is far above the percentage who said they were not as well off now as they were throughout the presidencies of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush or Ronald Reagan.
The poll finds nearly a quarter of Americans (23%) saying they are falling behind financially, up from 17% in February. Just over half (52%) say they have just enough to maintain their standard of living and about a quarter (24%) say they are getting ahead, down from 28% in February.
And Americans also predict more pain at the pump. Half say that they expect gas prices to get worse over the next year, while 21% expect gas prices to improve and 15% say they expect gas prices to stay about the same, which are already significantly higher than usual.
Some Americans say they are changing their behaviors because of higher gas prices. Over 4 in 10 have cut back on driving (44%) or cut other household expenses (42%) because of high gas prices. Fewer, 34%, say they have changed travel or vacation plans, while 15% have considered buying an electric vehicle.
High gas prices are affecting Americans in lower-income households more: A majority of Americans with household incomes of less than $50,000 have cut back on their household expenses (59%) and cut back on driving (56%) while nearly half of them say they have changed travel plans because of high gas prices (48%).
More women than men have cut back on driving, household expenses and have changed travel plans.
At a gas station in San Francisco, gas prices top $7/gallon, on April 30, 2026.
KGO
Slim majorities of Democrats say they have cut back on driving and cut household expenses, along with just under half of independents. Just 28% of Republicans say they have done both. Over 4 in 10 Democrats (45%) say they have changed travel plans, along with 38% of independents and 19% of Republicans. About a quarter of Democrats (24%) along with 16% of independents and 7% of Republicans say they have considered buying an electric vehicle because of high gas prices.
Iran
Most Americans say it was a mistake to go to war against Iran and that the conflict will make things worse in America. In addition, Americans are not confident an agreement to end the war with Iran will prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
About 6 in 10 Americans say that the U.S. using military force in Iran was a mistake, while just over one-third say it was the right decision.
A woman hangs laundry in her damaged apartment after returning home with her family in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, April 30, 2026.
Hussein Malla/AP
Today’s 61% saying it was a mistake is far higher than the 26% of Americans who said the U.S. going to war with Iraq was a mistake in a March 2003 ABC/Post poll shortly after the U.S. invasion of the country, but far closer to the 64% who said the same about that conflict after it had gone on for nearly four years in January 2007.
Compared to prior conflicts, fewer, about 4 in 10 said it was a mistake to go to war with Serbia and the former Yugoslavia in April 1999, in an ABC/Post poll and a Gallup poll, respectively. Even fewer said in Gallup polling that it was a mistake to send military forces to Afghanistan in November 2001 (9%), to the Persian Gulf in August 1990 (17%), Vietnam in September 1965 (24%) or Korea in August 1950 (20%).
In the current poll, majorities of Democrats (91%) and independents (71%) say it was a mistake to use military force against Iran while 79% of Republicans say it was the right decision. While Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who say they do not support the MAGA movement are almost evenly split between saying the U.S. military in Iran was the right thing or a mistake, 86% of MAGA Republicans say it was the right decision to use U.S. military force against Iran. By a 9-point margin, (54% to 45%) Americans who served in the armed forces say it was the right decision.
Most Americans see potential risk in the U.S. military’s action against Iran. That includes an increased risk of terrorism against Americans (61%), an increased chance of the U.S. economy going into a recession (60%) and weakening relationships with U.S. allies (56%).
Majorities of Democrats and independents say all three risks have increased due to the U.S. military’s action against Iran. A 43% plurality of Republicans say the risk of terrorism against Americans has increased, while about 3 in 10 Republicans say the chances of recession or weakened relationships with allies have increased.
Americans are almost perfectly split between whether the U.S. should make a peace deal with Iran, even if it results in a worse deal for the U.S. (48%) or push Iran for a better deal, even if it means continuing U.S. military action in Iran (46%).
Most Democrats (76%) and half of independents (50%) say the U.S. should make a peace deal, while most Republicans (79%), including both MAGA Republicans (84%) and non-MAGA Republicans (64%) say the U.S. should push Iran for a better deal. Two-thirds of Americans who served in the U.S. armed forces, reserves or National Guard say the U.S. should push Iran for a better deal, even if it means resuming U.S. military action against Iran.
But even though Americans are split on whether the U.S. should make a peace deal, nearly two-thirds say they are not confident an agreement to end the war with Iran will prevent the country from developing nuclear weapons, a figure that is virtually unchanged from when ABC and the Post last asked in 2015, when then-President Barack Obama’s administration was negotiating a deal with Iran. Back then, most Americans supported the deal, even if they did not think it would work.
Few Americans, only 19%, say U.S. actions in Iran this year have been successful. The remainder are roughly split between saying it has not been successful (39%) and it is too soon to tell (41%).
A slight majority of MAGA Republicans (52%) say U.S. actions in Iran have been successful, while 55% of non-MAGA Republicans say it is too soon to tell. Most Democrats (67%) say it has not been successful and independents are largely split over whether it has been unsuccessful or that it is too soon to tell.
Americans with personal military experience are divided: 30% say it has been successful, 31% say it has not been successful and 38% say it is too soon to tell.
Trump and Iran
Most Americans — including a slim majority of Republicans — had a negative reaction to Trump’s social media post earlier this month saying, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if Iran did not make an agreement with the U.S. Also, by about a 2-to-1 margin, Americans say the president’s actions on Iran are inconsistent with his 2024 presidential campaign position.
President Donald Trump speaks during an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House, April 30, 2026 in Washington.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Over three-quarters of Americans, 76%, say they had a negative reaction to Trump’s post threatening Iran. That includes 53% of Americans who say they had a strongly negative reaction to the president’s post.
Even a slim majority of Republicans (53%) had a negative reaction to Trump’s post about Iran, along with 81% of independents and 91% of Democrats. Over 4 in 10 MAGA Republicans had a negative reaction, along with about 8 in 10 non-MAGA Republicans.
Nearly 6 in 10 Americans with military service experience had a negative reaction to Trump’s post (57%).
By about a 2-to-1 margin, Americans say Trump’s actions on Iran are inconsistent (46%) rather than consistent (22%) with his 2024 presidential campaign position on the U.S. getting involved in foreign wars, while 30% are not sure. The only major demographic groups where a majority say Trump has been consistent are those who strongly approve of Trump (69%) and self-described MAGA Republicans (56%). Just one-third of those with U.S. military experience say Trump’s actions on Iran are consistent with his campaign position.
Even more broadly, by more than 2-to-1, Americans oppose Trump using the U.S. military to force changes in other countries rather than support it, 56% to 24%. Support peaks among MAGA Republicans, 66% of whom support Trump using the U.S. military to force change in other countries.
Among Americans with military service backgrounds, 45% oppose Trump using the U.S. military to force changes in other countries, 40% support it and 14% have no opinion.
Israel and the U.S.
A growing share of Americans say the U.S. is too supportive of Israel and just over half say the country had too much influence on Trump’s decision to launch strikes against Iran.
Nearly half of Americans say the U.S. is too supportive of Israel (47%), the highest compared to previous polling conducted by the Pew Research Center since 2012. Just about 1 in 10 say that the U.S. is not supportive enough of Israel and 4 in 10 say the level of U.S. support for Israel is about right.
A majority of Republicans (68%) say support for Israel is about right, while a majority of Democrats (66%) and about half of independents (51%) say the U.S. is too supportive of Israel. More Americans under 50 (53%) say the U.S. is too supportive of Israel than those 50 and older (39%).
An explosion of what appears to be white phosphorus fired by the IDF on the Lebanese side of the Israel-Lebanon border as seen from the Israeli side of the border, April 30, 2026.
Ayal Margolin/Reuters
A slim majority of Americans (52%) say Israel had too much influence on Trump’s decision to launch strikes against Iran, a figure that is higher among Democrats (77%) and Americans under 30 years old (61%). Overall, 37% say that Israel had the right amount of influence on Trump’s decision; just 7% say they had too little influence.
Bringing back the draft
The U.S. military has faced a yearslong struggle to keep up with recruiting goals, though that has changed recently. While the Air Force and Space Force have met their 2026 recruiting targets ahead of schedule, the Pentagon attributes much of the military recruiting shortfall to a smaller pool of qualified applicants. The Army and Navy’s recent successes in meeting annual recruiting goals have been attributed in large part to a program that helps recruits to physically and academically meet requirements; it has also recently increased its maximum recruitment age from 35 years old to 42 to expand its recruiting pool. Starting this December, American men between the ages of 18 and 25 will be automatically registered into the military draft pool, updating an already existing process that depended on individuals to register themselves.
In March, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that while the military draft is not part of a current plan, Trump “wisely keeps his options on the table.”
Americans are widely opposed to bringing back a military draft, 85% of whom say the U.S. should not return to a draft. That’s up from 73% when ABC and the Post last asked about it in 1985 – only 12 years after the military shifted to an all-volunteer force.
Lawmakers have argued whether registration should include women, while others say that the draft should be abandoned entirely.
Today, wide majorities of every demographic group oppose returning to the draft including 9 in 10 Democrats, nearly as many independents and about 8 in 10 Republicans. Nine in 10 adults under 30 oppose returning to the draft, but the share doesn’t drop much among those older – with at least 8 in 10 of older groups opposing the draft as well. Roughly three-quarters of Americans with military experience say the U.S. should not return to a military draft.
When asked if women should be drafted along with young men, there has not been as much of a shift as the overall draft question. Today, 43% say women should be drafted alongside men and 54% say they should not. When ABC and the Post last asked 41 years ago, the numbers were virtually identical.
Now, a slim majority of men (54%) say that women should be drafted along with young men – but 63% of women say they should not be. A larger share of adults under 30 (66%) oppose drafting women than those 30 or older (51%).
Virtually identical shares of Democrats (55%), independents (54%) and Republicans (54%) say women should not be drafted.
Support for drafting women peaks at 59% among Americans who served in the U.S. armed forces, reserves or National Guard.
Methodology – This ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted among 2,560 U.S. adults overall and has an error margin of +/- 2 percentage points. Error margins are larger among subgroups.
See PDF for full results and detailed methodology.
ABC News’ Liz Schreier and Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
Email ABCNEWS.Polls@abc.com to be added to ABC News’ polling distribution list.
More ABC News polls can be found at abcnews.com. Media contacts: Van Scott (212-456-7243) or Brooks Lancaster.
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Americans oppose Trump ballroom 2-to-1; even more oppose his signature on money: ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll
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