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MaddowBlog-Pressed on Iran war polling, a key member of Team Trump says a bit too much
To hear Mike Waltz tell it, it doesn’t much matter what Americans in general think of the war in Iran; what matters is what Republicans think.
Confronted with polls showing broad opposition to the war in Iran, the White House has some options.
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-03-23T17:37:10.375Z
Team Trump is apparently going with a “only Republican voters count†response.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/pressed-on-iran-war-polling-key-member-of-team-trump-says-a-bit-too-much
Confronted with the data, the White House and its allies have a few options. They could argue that the polls will change in time. They could try to say that Donald Trump believes in pursuing his agenda whether it’s popular or not. They could even make up alternative polling data that doesn’t exist, as the president has been known to do.
But on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Trump’s former White House national security adviser, went in a very different direction.
.....It was a candid peek into a curious perspective. To hear the ambassador tell it, it doesn’t much matter what Americans think; what matters is what Republicans think.
Sure, national surveys show broad public opposition to the war that the president launched for reasons he’s struggled to explain, but according to Waltz, voters outside the GOP base, in a rather literal sense, don’t count.
The New York Times’ Jamelle Bouie recently argued, “Trump seems to see Democratic-led states — and the people in them — less as constituents to which he has a set of larger obligations and more as enemies to be pacified and defeated. For Trump, there is no whole people of the United States. There are only his people and his states.”
Waltz tacitly endorsed this argument to a national television audience, shrugging off the attitudes of a majority of Americans and focusing entirely on like-minded partisans. That perspective might make Team Trump feel better in the short term, but it’s worth reminding the White House that when the midterm elections arrive in the fall, MAGA Republicans won’t be the only ones casting ballots.
But on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Trump’s former White House national security adviser, went in a very different direction.
BRENNAN: 60% of Americans disapprove of military action against Iran. 57% think the conflict is going badly. How do you tell the American people they're wrong?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-22T14:46:59.640Z
WALTZ: Well, I could quote a whole slew of polls that show, for example, self-described MAGA Republicans give the president 100% approval
.....It was a candid peek into a curious perspective. To hear the ambassador tell it, it doesn’t much matter what Americans think; what matters is what Republicans think.
Sure, national surveys show broad public opposition to the war that the president launched for reasons he’s struggled to explain, but according to Waltz, voters outside the GOP base, in a rather literal sense, don’t count.
The New York Times’ Jamelle Bouie recently argued, “Trump seems to see Democratic-led states — and the people in them — less as constituents to which he has a set of larger obligations and more as enemies to be pacified and defeated. For Trump, there is no whole people of the United States. There are only his people and his states.”
Waltz tacitly endorsed this argument to a national television audience, shrugging off the attitudes of a majority of Americans and focusing entirely on like-minded partisans. That perspective might make Team Trump feel better in the short term, but it’s worth reminding the White House that when the midterm elections arrive in the fall, MAGA Republicans won’t be the only ones casting ballots.