Watching public opinion shift in real time
Welcome to YouGov's weekly newsletter The Surveyor, with new polling data, insights, and charts on politics, life, and other topical issues — from our U.S. News team.
This week, we're spotlighting surveys about the U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, privacy and government surveillance, naming places after public figures, Zohran Mamdani, the Nobel Peace Prize, and applause.
Views on bombing Iran
When the U.S. bombed nuclear sites in Iran last weekend, YouGov was partway through fielding our weekly Economist / YouGov Poll. That let us conduct a fascinating experiment by comparing Americans who took the survey before President Donald Trump's announcement (37% of respondents took it between Friday and Saturday evening) and those who took it after (63% took it between Saturday evening and Monday) — as taking a position on bombing Iran instantly transformed from adopting a view on a hypothetical concept to deciding whether to support or oppose Trump's actions.
Before the bombings were announced, 16% of Democrats said the U.S. should bomb Iranian nuclear facilities and 56% said it shouldn't — net support of -40 points. After the announcement, Democrats were less likely to say such an attack should happen: 5% said the U.S. should attack and 74% said it shouldn't, net support for bombing -of -68.
Independents, in contrast, were more likely to support bombing Iranian nuclear facilities after the announcement (net support of -23) than before (net support of -41).
We saw the biggest difference among Republicans. Before the attack, Republicans were closely divided on the issue: 34% said the U.S. should attack Iran, and 31% said it should not — net support for bombing of +3. After the attack, 70% said the U.S. should and 16% said it should not — net support of +54.
This was no fluke. We also saw a similar change in a question about approval of how Trump was handling the conflict between Israel and Iran. Before the announcement, 57% of Republicans strongly or somewhat approved; after it, 82% of Republicans approved.
YouGov also asked a question trying to get at interventionist vs. isolationist sentiment: Whether Americans think the U.S. should take an active part in world affairs, or stay out. Overall, 41% of U.S. adult citizens say the U.S. should take an active part, and 36% say it should stay out. Democrats and Republicans are each more likely to say the U.S. should take an active part, while Independents are more likely to say the U.S. should stay out.
What's really interesting is how this relates to views on bombing Iranian nuclear facilities. Overall, Americans who want an active part in world affairs are twice as likely to say the U.S. should bomb Iran than those who want the U.S. to stay out (41% vs. 21%).
But among Democrats, there's almost no difference between the views of isolationists and interventionists: Just a 4-point difference between the share of interventionists and isolationists who say the U.S. should bomb Iranian nuclear facilities, and if anything the isolationists are slightly more likely to support the bombing (10% vs. 14%).
Interventionist Independents are twice as likely as isolationist Independents to say the U.S. should bomb Iranian nuclear facilities (33% vs. 16%).
Republicans show the biggest difference: 75% of interventionist Republicans support the bombing, compared to 35% of isolationist Republicans.
Both interventionist and isolationist Republicans who took the survey after Trump announced the attack were about twice as likely to say the U.S. should bomb nuclear facilities in Iran as those who took the survey before.
Before the attack was announced, interventionist Republicans supported the idea of bombing Iranian nuclear facilities by 45% vs. 31%, net support of +14. Afterwards, they supported it by 88% vs. 8%, or +79.
Before the attack, isolationist Republicans were less likely to say the U.S. should bomb Iranian nuclear facilities than to say it should not (23% vs. 51%). Afterwards, 44% of isolationist Republicans said the U.S. should bomb Iran and 36% said it should not.
Charting opinions
Snap polls: More Americans oppose than support the U.S. bombing of Iran
85% of Republicans who had heard a lot about the U.S. bombings strongly or somewhat approved of them, compared to 68% of Republicans who had heard a little and 42% of Republicans who hadn't heard anything. By net approval — the percentage who approve minus the percentage who disapprove — Republicans who had heard a lot register at +75, compared to +57 for Republicans who had heard a little and +15 among those who had heard nothing. (David Montgomery)
Which Americans support and oppose bombing Iran?
Older people are more likely than young adults to identify as Republicans and more Republicans approve of the bombings. But there are clear patterns even within party groups. Younger Democrats are less likely to oppose the U.S. bombings than are older Democrats — while younger Republicans are less likely to support them than are older Republicans. (David Montgomery)
Most Americans support Russia sanctions; many support sanctioning countries that buy Russian oil
Support for economic sanctions against Russia is robust. Nearly half (44%) of Americans support increasing sanctions. When combined with the 19% who favor maintaining current sanctions, a majority of Americans (63%) support either the current level of sanctions against Russia or a higher level. In contrast, only 15% favor decreasing or eliminating sanctions. (Alexander Rossell Hayes)
What Americans think about privacy and U.S. government surveillance in 2025
Majorities of Republicans say it’s acceptable for the U.S. government to keep tabs on the online activity of politicians, journalists, international students, and government workers, among other groups. Fewer Democrats agree. The survey also found that most Americans are concerned that the U.S. government could use surveillance powers to target political opponents or suppress dissent. (Jamie Ballard)
Which historical figures should the U.S. government name public places or government properties in honor of? The largest shares of Americans say the government should honor three presidents — Abraham Lincoln (81%), George Washington (79%), and John F. Kennedy (75%) — and civil-rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. (78%). The public figures Americans are most likely to say the U.S. government should not name places after are President Donald Trump (53%) and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (39%). (Jamie Ballard)
Quick takes
Zohran Mamdani: 22% of Americans have a very or somewhat favorable view of New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, and 23% have a very or somewhat unfavorable view
Proudness: 60% of Americans are very or somewhat proud of the U.S., 65% are proud of their state, and 69% are proud of their city or town
Nobel: 29% of Americans, including 5% of Democrats and 67% of Republicans, say Donald Trump deserves to win the Nobel Peace Prize for helping India and Pakistan negotiate a ceasefire
Khamenei: 4% of Americans say the U.S. is better off with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Iran's supreme leader, while 27% say the U.S. would be better off with another leader and 29% say it makes no difference
Please clap: 19% of Americans say people generally applaud too often, 8% say they don't applaud enough, and 53% say they applaud the right amount
Elsewhere
Polling partnerships
CBS + YouGov on the bombing of Iran
The Economist + YouGov on the Trump approval numbers, the bombing of Iran, Trump's budget, the military parade, and the No Kings protests
Polling abroad
First YouGov MRP since 2024 election shows a hung parliament with Reform UK as largest party (YouGov UK)
Polling in the press
The fallout from Trump’s Iran strikes is political, too (Economist)
Trump nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize — does he deserve it? What a poll found (Miami Herald)
Trump net approval hits new low in Economist/YouGov poll (The Hill)
Woman's Meal on 10 Hour Flight Called a Crime—She Insists It 'Didn't Smell' (Newsweek)
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Carl Bialik contributed to this newsletter.