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Pete Hegseth Underwater With American Population As Iran War Wages On, CNN’s Harry Enten Says

[Screenshot/CNN]

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten said Friday that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is underwater with Americans as the U.S. continues its conflict with Iran.

A Quinnipiac poll found Hegseth had a -15 point overall approval rating and a -28 point rating with independents, while a Yahoo survey found Hegseth was -33 points underwater with independents. Former Defense Secretaries Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld had higher approval ratings at this point during previous wars.

“Past secretaries of defense’s at a time of war this early on in the war tend to be very popular, very different,” Enten said. “I mean, just look at this slide. Secretary of Defense’s net popularity at this point in the Gulf War. Look at Dick Cheney. He was 62 points above water. Look at Donald Rumsfeld, who of course became unpopular later. But at the beginning of the Iraq war, look at this. He was 58 points above water, Pete Hegseth. I mean, look at this.”

“It’s just completely on the other side of the aisle. 17 points below water in the average,” Enten continued. “I mean, Donald Rumsfeld was what? 75 points more popular than Pete Hegseth was. And Dick Cheney was nearly 80 points more popular. He is on a completely different planet. This war is being received completely differently, at least when looking at the Secretary of Defenses.” 

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Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who served during Trump’s first term, had a +37 point approval rating at this point in the term, while Hegseth has a -17 point rating, Enten said while citing a Quinnipiac poll.

“We’re talking about Mattis being more than 50 points more popular than a popularity rating than Pete Hegseth was,” Enten continued. “Pete Hegseth is truly unique when it comes to Secretary of Defense’s breaking records when it comes to unpopularity at this point in a presidency. One of these things is not like the other.”

Polls have shown Americans are split on the Iran war, with one survey from The Washington Post finding Americans opposed the strikes against Iran 52% to 39%. A Fox News poll from early March found Americans were split at 50% on whether they approved of the war.

The administration claimed that Iran posed an imminent threat to the U.S., though they have yet to specify the exact threat. Trump’s letter attempting to justify the war to Congress did not pinpoint an imminent threat.

Hegseth said Thursday that there is no timeframe to end the conflict in Iran. The Pentagon is currently requesting $200 billion in supplemental funding from Congress to fund the conflict.