When the United States first struck Iran, the president said the war would last mere weeks.
Five months later, ceasefires have come and gone, and strikes stopped and restarted. Gas prices have shot up as the Strait of Hormuz, a key passage for oil tankers, kept reopening and closing. The Trump administration tried to broker another deal in June, but it fell apart this month, and attacks began anew.
The protracted conflict has given some voters whiplash trying to keep up with each turn. This week, President Donald Trump said he would impose another blockade on Iranian ports before backpedaling on that, as he has repeatedly with his threats.
Americans have grown increasingly frustrated with Trump over his handling of the war. A majority of Americans disapprove. Beyond that, most do not think negotiations will return gas prices to normal, a new Washington Post-Ipsos poll found.
Here’s what voters said about how they’re processing the Iran war right now. Their responses have been edited for length and clarity.
‘Everything has skyrocketed’
It gets overwhelming. I read, and I watch enough to keep abreast on things, but I don’t sit there and follow it religiously.It’s putting a lot of stress on the country, on the economy, on working-class citizens, and it just seems like the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and the prices of everything has skyrocketed.— Lori Oxendine, 58, an esthetician from Woodbridge, Virginia, who is a Democrat
‘I don’t want it to be like Afghanistan’
It’s on TV more than anything else, day-to-day national news, which [the war is] of course a big topic.I think it’s another indication of exactly how low of a character our president has. He’s lied repeatedly about the possible treaties and the state of affairs regarding the strait.I would not be surprised if I watch the news within the next week and hear another supposed treaty that’s going to happen.I’m praying that we are not going to have a situation where we send in thousands of troops. I don’t want it to be like Afghanistan either, you know. That kind of worries me, that we do get in there, and we never get out.— Brian Allender, 72, a retiree and Air Force veteran from Port Aransas, Texas, who is an independent
‘Is there an end?’
He did the ceasefire, and then he went back on it and did it again. For me, if you’re going to say something, stick to that. That’s how I feel. It personally hits me because I have a son who’s 18 years old, and I’m worried about if we have a draft again.I believe in fighting for our freedom, but I don’t want my 18-year-old to go off to war because we couldn’t mind our own business. It’s just scary. Is there an end? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? What’s happening?— Laura Miles, 41, a patient services representative from Tonawanda, New York, who is a Republican
‘I’m hopeful’
We don’t have all the information. There have got to be things that [the president] knows and his team knows and that Iran knows, that we don’t. And I hope that [Trump] is in good faith trying to give them time to come to the table.It’s amazing to me that he’s telling them, ‘If this doesn’t happen, I’m going to take out your power plants tonight.’ He’s not really holding stuff back.I don’t look at it like President Trump is meddling in other countries and saber-rattling with them. I’m hopeful that he can make a difference.— Diane Wolverton, 61, a retiree from Thornton, Colorado, who is a Republican
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