Republicans, Democrats say no to US military strike against Iran as Trump mulls action: poll

Democrats and Republicans are united in opposing U.S. military strikes against Iran to retaliate for the killing of protesters amid a wave of massive demonstrations against the Iranian government in recent weeks, according to a new national poll.

The vast majority of Independents (80%-11%) and Democrats (79%-7%), as well as a majority of Republicans (53%-35%) said the U.S. should not get involved if protesters in Iran are killed while demonstrating against the regime.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency announced Tuesday that nearly 2,000 people have been killed in the protests. Other reports say the death toll is over 3,000, with the real number likely to be even higher. 

The protests against Iran's dire economic conditions, which have rapidly escalated in recent days, are seen as some of the most violent since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that installed the current system of clerical rule.

Trump took to social media earlier this week, urging "Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS."

The president also said that "HELP IS ON ITS WAY," and apparently pointing to Iranian authorities, he warned, "They will pay a big price."

Pointing to the possibility of Iranian authorities executing some of the protesters, Trump said in a CBS News interview this week, "If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action."

And the White House confirmed on Monday that Trump was weighing whether to bomb Iran in reaction to the crackdown.

"Talk of the U.S. military potentially intervening in Iran's internal chaos gets a vigorous thumbs down, while voters signal congressional approval should be a backstop against military involvement in any foreign crisis," Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said.

But there's a partisan divide, with 95% of Democrats and 78% of Independents saying a president should first receive approval from Congress, but Republicans, by a 54%-35% margin, saying congressional approval is not needed.

And there was an expected partisan divide, with 85% of Republicans supporting the military action to capture Maduro, with 79% of Democrats opposed. Independents were divided.

"Voters are divided on the merits of overthrowing Maduro. And while split on whether in the long run the people of Venezuela will be better off, they strongly disapprove of America's temporary domain over Venezuela and are heartily against putting U.S. troops on the ground," Malloy noted.

"The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of national security," the president argued in a social media post Wednesday.

Trump's push for the U.S. to acquire Greenland is causing tension with Denmark and other NATO allies who insist that the semiautonomous Danish territory should determine its own future. 

Trump officials are openly considering all options, including military force, to take Greenland, spurring bipartisan opposition from some in Congress.

According to the poll, 86% of voters said they would oppose military action to take over Greenland. And by a 55%-37% margin, voters said they opposed trying to buy Greenland.

But there's a stark political divide, with more than two-thirds of Republicans supporting efforts to buy or capture Greenland.