Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Days after a poll found 57% Americans were against President Donald Trump’s Iran war, his close aide Karoline Leavitt announced to quit the White House as Press Secretary, the media reported on Thursday.
Leavitt, 28, the youngest ever US presidential top spokesperson, has been a fiercely loyal Trump defender.
The American war on Iran has quickly become one of the most unpopular wars in the US history. At the beginning of March 2026, when the war started, 46 per cent of Americans opposed the conflict, according to pollster Nate Silver’s aggregator of polling data. Now that number has shot up to 57 per cent.
As a result, President Trump urgently needs reliable support for the war effort. A group known as “Christian Zionists” consistently shows strong backing for his military actions, the reports said.
Foremost among these supporters are those who gathered for the Christians United for Israel (CUFI) annual conference recently held in Washington, DC.
Led by the firebrand pastor John Hagee, CUFI has established itself as one of the most powerful lobbying groups within the Republican Party. With a membership of 10 million, it stands as one of Trump’s most reliable bases of support, particularly in terms of his war efforts.
At the recent conference attended by thousands of fervent supporters of close American-Israeli ties, as well as the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Hagee opened the conference’s night to honour Israel with a statement: “The issue is whether a regime that sponsors terror and threatens Israel should be permitted to exist… Israel has the right to stop a nuclear sword from being placed over the neck of the Jewish people.”
Christian organizations like CUFI exist solely to fervently support Israel. Yet Christian Zionism has been a crucial aspect of some American Protestant groups since the late 19th century, and its influence has only increased since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.
They support joint Israeli-U.S. military operations against Iran and believe that America should take steps to promote Israeli interests in the region.
Existential threat
Trump recently announced that negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran have resumed, which initially led to some pause in hostilities between the two countries. Now, he says the US is only “semi-negotiating” with Iran.
For his Christian Zionist supporters, however, negotiations with the Islamic Republic pose an existential threat to Israel and, consequently, to American interests. For Trump’s most loyal supporters, the American-Israeli war with Iran is seen as an existential struggle that encompasses both material and spiritual dimensions.
They believe the US and Israel must neutralize Iran to guarantee Israel’s long-term security. Such actions not only empower Israel and solidify its position within the dispensationalist framework of the end times, but also benefit America, as they believe it aligns with God’s promise to bless those who support his covenant people, they say.
Trump’s conundrum
Trump is in a difficult position. With an approval rating of merely 38 per cent, just three months before the US Congress mid-term elections in November 2026, ending the ongoing war could alienate his most ardent supporters, while continuing it could further distance him from the majority of Americans who disapprove of the conflict.
His approach of vacillating between largely inconsequential airstrikes, cataclysmic threats and unsuccessful peace negotiations is unlikely to satisfy any of his key constituencies.
What is clear is that if he decides to escalate the war, Christian Zionists will be at the forefront of those supporting him.
Leavitt quits
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said she will step down at the end of August. President Trump hailed her as one of his “most trusted aides.”
Leavitt earned a reputation for acid putdowns of journalists, delivering fluent and aggressive performances at often combative press briefings.
“Our wonderful White House Press Secretary, and one of my most trusted aides, Karoline Leavitt, will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family,” Trump said on social media.
In May, Leavitt announced the birth of her second child — a girl named Viviana — just days after delaying her maternity leave following an alleged assassination attempt on Trump when a gunman tried to storm the White House correspondents’ dinner.
Her departure comes as Trump faces steadily sinking poll numbers and the Republican Party risks defeat in the November midterm congressional elections.
“I am thankful to the President for entrusting me with the distinct privilege of speaking on his behalf at the White House podium,” Leavitt said on social media as her departure was announced.
“I have relished holding the liberal media accountable and ensuring the American people hear the truth about President Trump’s successes.”