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Iran War is first US war the public never supported

Polygraph | Newsletter n°342 | 29 May 2026

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Stephen Semler
May 29, 2026
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IN THIS NEWSLETTER: The Iran War is on track to become the most unpopular US war in history. In a way, it already is.

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*Read my latest opinion piece in MarketWatch: Your portfolio can’t afford the real bill for the Iran war

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Study

I collected public opinion data on seven US wars: World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf, Afghanistan, Iraq, and the ongoing Iran War. I compared their popularity based on net support (the percent of survey respondents backing the war minus the percent opposed).

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