President Trump’s most fervent supporters prefer overthrowing Iran’s theocratic regime to reaching a negotiated settlement with Tehran by a margin of more than two-to-one, according to a new survey.
The Reagan Institute Summer Survey found that 51% of self-described “MAGA Republicans” said they wanted the US to install new leadership in Iran, while just 25% preferred a peace deal.
Among all Republicans, 50% said they were in favor of putting a US-friendly regime in place, with 25% again saying they wanted a negotiated settlement.
Democrats gave a mirror-image response, with 52% saying they prefered a diplomatic approach and 25% favoring regime change.
Another 14% stated they wanted to see the regime left in place but weakened economically and militarily.
Among all respondents, a narrow plurality (39%) wanted Iran’s current leadership to remain with verifiable limits on its nuclear and missile programs.
Another 36% opted for supporting regime change, 16% said they wanted the Tehran regime to stay in place with severely reduced economic and military capabilities, and 8% said they didn’t know what they preferred.
The annual survey shows the uphill political battle Trump faces to sell his latest deal with the rogue Islamic state after three-and-a-half months of military action.
On Wednesday, President Trump and his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Pezeshkian, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) opening a 60-day window to negotiate a final peace deal, including a winding down of the Islamic Republica’s nuclear program.
Also included are provisions reopening the Strait of Hormuz as well as limited sanctions waivers contingent on Iran staying at the negotiating table.
President Trump told reporters at the G7 Summit in France the MOU was signed to avoid an “economic catastrophe.”
The Reagan Institute survey polled 1,555 respondents nationwide May 26-June 3 via a combination of live phone interviews, an online panel and text-to-web responses. It has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.5 percentage points.