A new poll found a majority of Americans are skeptical of the memorandum of understanding that serves as a framework for a final deal between the U.S. and Iran, as a key Trump supporter slammed it as “complete capitulation” by President Trump.
A CBS News/YouGov poll released late Sunday found that most respondents (66%) said the Trump administration struck a deal just so it could end the conflict, while 34% said the deal was reached because the administration reached its goals during the nearly five-month war.
In the survey, 57% of respondents said the conflict with Iran caused more problems than it solved, compared to 21% of respondents who said it solved more problems than it caused, and another 21% said the conflict neither solved nor created more problems.
An overwhelming majority of Americans said the Trump administration did not meet its stated goal of stopping Iran’s nuclear program, with 69% of respondents saying the nuclear program had not been stopped. About a third of respondents (31%) said it had been stopped.
The memorandum of understanding gives the U.S. and Iran 60 days to finalize a deal and hammer out the fate of Iran’s nuclear program. Iran has insisted the nuclear program is peaceful and does not want a nuclear weapon.
Respondents also said they were uncertain whether the U.S.’ actions prevented Iran from threatening other countries in the Middle East (68%), made the country more safe and free for its citizens (74%) or will become more pro-U.S. (79%).
The poll also found that 41% of respondents view the agreement as good for both sides, while 37% say it’s a better deal for Iran, and 22% say it’s better for the U.S.
Among Republicans, the numbers are slightly better for Mr. Trump, with 42% saying the deal is good for both sides, 39% saying the deal is better for the U.S., compared to 19% who say it’s better for Iran.
The CBS survey was conducted from June 17-19 and surveyed 2.519 respondents. The margin of error is 4.3 percentage points.
Meanwhile, a longtime Trump supporter blasted the deal, as well as the administration’s criticism of Israel for objecting to the Iran deal. Fox News host Mark Levin spent the first 20 minutes of his show “Life, Liberty & Levin” lashing out at the Trump administration.
“Stop cozying up to and telling us that the enemy regime in Iran is now more rational, more moderate, and a regime that we can deal with, when just a few months ago, they slaughtered 50,000 people — they’re still hanging young people today,” Mr. Levin said. “And if they had a nuclear missile today, they’d fire it into our country, as sure as I am alive.”
He said the joint U.S.-Israeli conflict was justified at the outset, but “something happened along the way” and the Trump administration has “surrendered” Israel’s defense to reach a deal with Iran. He questioned why the Trump administration isn’t more focused on stopping Iranian proxies, such as Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
He accused the Trump administration of doing Hezbollah’s “bidding.”
“When Israel is being attacked by Hezbollah and the Lebanese people and the government want Hezbollah gone, it’s an Iranian terrorist group that has taken over the country,” he said. “It’s a complete capitulation to the Iranian regime. Because Hezbollah is its terrorist lifeline. It’s an absolute capitulation of them. And why would we do this? Why would we do it to Israel?”
Mr. Levin said any deal with Iran “isn’t worth the paper it’s written on,” saying that the regime will “never abandon its cause and its revolution.
“[The deal] may last for a while. That’s what they’re banking on. Survival and reconstruction and then strike. And so they’ll agree to this for a period of time. They’ll take all the benefits they can get,” he said.
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