President Trump has long criticized the Iraq war, called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and once pledged to end the “era of endless wars.”
But over the weekend, the United States struck three nuclear sites in Iran, in an effort to support Israel in its war against Iran, potentially kicking off a more dangerous phase in the conflict.
In interviews on Sunday with supporters of Mr. Trump, they expressed a range of emotions — anger, wariness, avid support — about the U.S. attacks on Iran. But there was one dominant theme: anxiety about what comes next.
‘I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.’
Bruce Bell, 39, Stockbridge, Mich.
Bruce Bell was at his home on Saturday night, scrolling on his phone when he saw the news of the strikes on Iran.
His reaction was wait and see.
“I agree with most people that war is bad,” he said. “But I don’t know enough about this situation with Iran. I keep hearing about red lines and how they’ve been encroaching for a while.”
Mr. Bell, a transmission mechanic, has drifted politically. He voted for former President Barack Obama twice, and then chose a third-party candidate for president in 2016.
In 2020, he decided to vote for Mr. Trump. He liked how Mr. Trump talked about the border and about manufacturing. And Mr. Bell did not like what felt to him like the Democratic Party’s progressive political stance on policing.
He voted for Mr. Trump again in 2024.
“I’ve seen a lot of blustering from politicians,” he said. “Then someone like Trump comes in and does something. He just sort of detonates the situation — and this is kind of his M.O. It’s like our Southern border — everyone says it can’t be secured, and then he comes in and does it.”
Foreign policy issues are not the top priority for Mr. Bell. When it comes to the bombing, he said, “I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. I do want to see the follow-ups and see information on why and hope and pray that there were not any innocent casualties.”
— Sabrina Tavernise
‘One of the big reasons I voted for him was him keeping us out of stuff in the Middle East.’
Charles Vaughters, 24, Laramie, Wyo.
When Charles Vaughters, a college student and Marine veteran, heard the news of the bombings in Iran, he said that he couldn’t help but feel somewhat betrayed.
“One of the big reasons I voted for him was him keeping us out of stuff in the Middle East,” Mr. Vaughters said of Mr. Trump, adding that the countries in that region should be left to settle their disputes themselves.
He called the president’s move “a step too far” and said that he had spoken with other young Trump supporters in the red state of Wyoming who felt the same way.
“We’ve definitely had our trust shaken,” he said.
Mr. Vaughters, who is a history major at the University of Wyoming, supported Mr. Trump in the last two elections. Mr. Vaughters was drawn in, he said, by the president’s “America First” platform and by his promises to stay out of foreign wars and to bring back manufacturing to the country. So the administration’s bombing of another country seems “a little hypocritical,” Mr. Vaughters said, adding that he still supported the president and did not regret voting for him.
Now, though, Mr. Trump has put the United States in a precarious position, Mr. Vaughters said, by threatening further military action against Iran, while so many U.S. troops are based in the region. He fears that an Iranian strike on a U.S. base could trigger a push for ground troops, which he said would be “absolutely disastrous.”
As for what Mr. Trump should do next, Mr. Vaughters said, “If I were him, I’d just really, really keep trying to push negotiations between Iran and Israel.” He added that Mr. Trump should tell Israel: “OK, we’ve done the strike for you. Now, Israel, we are totally out of this. Figure it out on your own.”
— Juliet Macur
‘Every time you show weakness, they take advantage.’
Edward Padron, 67, Brownsville, Texas
Edward Padron was a young Army private when American hostages were taken in 1979 at the United States Embassy in Iran.
Mr. Padron, now a locksmith who lives in a border city, said that Mr. Trump was finally doing what former President Jimmy Carter had tried, but failed, to do — take military action in Iran.
“We would have shown the Middle East that you don’t mess with the United States,” he said. “I was there when it started. Donald Trump is doing what Jimmy Carter should have done.”
Tensions with Iran have continued since, and Mr. Padron is confident that the Trump administration chose to attack Iran because it was close to getting an atomic bomb, even though U.S. intelligence had assessed that Iran was not.
“They were the ones who poked the United States in the eye and said, What are you going to do about it?” Mr. Padron said.
Mr. Padron said he also supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq under former President George W. Bush because Saddam Hussein had become an enemy of the U.S., even if the so-called weapons of mass destruction never materialized.
“Every time you show weakness, they take advantage,” he said.
Mr. Padron thinks Mr. Trump had little choice but to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites. Now, he said, Iran must come to the table and negotiate and prevent a larger war. “It is in their hands,” he said.
— Edgar Sandoval
‘We voted for him because he would stay out.’
Noel Estrada, 32, Eagle, Colo.
In the mountains of Colorado, Noel Estrada was driving home from a camping trip without cell service on Sunday morning when his phone lit up with a belated flood of news about the bombing.
“It’s upsetting,” said Mr. Estrada, who fixes vending machines and A.T.M.s. “We voted for him because he would stay out.”
Mr. Estrada did not doubt that Iran could be pursuing a nuclear weapon, but he said the attack had nothing to do with his overriding concern in life: the high cost of living. Mr. Estrada said he had voted for Mr. Trump in the hopes that he could bring down gas and food prices, which are even higher in the mountain towns where Mr. Estrada lives and works.
To him, the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities felt like a diversion from the fact that groceries were still too expensive and he was still paying taxes on his overtime wages, as lawmakers in Washington fight over Mr. Trump’s budget bill. And the bombing, he said, represented a broken promise from a politician who ran on opposing America’s involvement in “stupid wars.”
“There’s no need for war,” Mr. Estrada said. “He said he was a friendly president and didn’t want wars. And here we are, six months in.”
— Jack Healy
The bombing ‘was protecting this little, tiny nation, but I don’t think that we need to be there further.’
Naomi Villalba, 75, Dallas
Naomi Villalba said she supported Mr. Trump’s decision to bomb nuclear sites in Iran. She feared that the country was developing a nuclear weapon specifically for Israel because of its democratic government and religion.
But she also said she believed that Iran was an exception to Mr. Trump’s campaign promise of not getting involved in foreign wars, and that she did not support more U.S. involvement.
Mr. Trump, she said, has been consistent: “We’re not the police of the world, we’re a protector. That’s it. And so I think that was protecting this little, tiny nation, but I don’t think that we need to be there further.”
Ms. Villalba is also worried that the military action on Iran may prompt additional unrest and protests.
“I think because we’re so divided in the United States, that so many have been fed — because they have not lived on the planet as long as I have — indoctrinations that are really just outlandish, and so I’m hoping that it doesn’t cause more unrest in our nation.”
— Christina Morales
‘I’m hoping that his campaign promises were true.’
Erwin McKone, 55, Flint, Mich.
Every day, Erwin McKone stands in the shower and thinks about how lucky he is to have hot water running through his pipes. Lately, he has also been thinking about how he does not have to worry about war and his house rattling with the sounds of bombs or explosions.
Mr. McKone supported Mr. Trump’s decision to strike three Iranian nuclear sites, and would support further military action, because he believes strongly that Islamic extremist groups should not have access to a nuclear weapon.
However, he is torn about the effects on innocent people in Iran, and about the potential invitation for retribution that could harm American civilians.
Mr. McKone said he struggled to vote for Mr. Trump in November because of how “reckless with his words” he could be. Despite the action on Iran, Mr. McKone believes the president is still committed to peace.
“I do think that he isn’t going to drag us into bigger wars,” said Mr. McKone, who voted for Mr. Trump in part because of his antiwar campaign promises. “I think the goal is de-escalation, and the goal is less death and destruction, but I guess that remains to be seen.”
“I’m hoping that his campaign promises were true,” he added.
— Sonia A. Rao
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