The war in the Middle East is spreading more and more. Iran attacked liquefied natural gas facilities in Qatar. US President Donald Trump threatened retaliation.

The US military will massively attack the important “South Pars” gas field if Iran continues to attack Qatar’s gas industry, he wrote on his Truth Social platform. There is no end in sight to the mutual bombing in the Middle East.

US historian Timothy Snyder believes Trump is in a dilemma. He explained that in an interview with “Zeit”. Snyder believes the Iran war was motivated by domestic politics. He suspects that Trump wants to distract from the problems in the USA – such as the rising cost of living and poor poll numbers.

“Trump is stuck – and he’s afraid of a big war”

“We shouldn’t start from the premise that Trump is acting from a position of strength. Trump is weak,” said Snyder in an interview with “Zeit”. The historian works as a professor of history at the renowned Yale University and has taught at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto since 2025.

“He cannot wage the kind of war that Trump would need to advance the transformation of the United States into an autocracy. Such a war would have to be fought with ground troops; it would cause many more deaths,” Snyder told the paper.

In his eyes, the US president lacks “the ideological conviction to do something like that. He’s stuck. A relatively small war doesn’t get him what he wants, and he’s – rightly – afraid of a big war.” Trump has lost control. Because a war doesn’t work like any of the TV shows he used to appear on.

Trump’s policies seem to be becoming more and more unpopular

Numbers show: The US President’s policies appear to be becoming increasingly unpopular among Americans. The weekly newspaper “The Economist” has Trump’s approval ratings in the individual US states based on data from the polling institute YouGov.

The result: The 79-year-old had greater support in states with traditionally Republican voters than in those with a Democratic bias. And: Trump’s voters are overwhelmingly satisfied with his performance as US President.

But: In important areas such as foreign policy, immigration and the economy, his approval ratings among the population have declined since his inauguration. This is shown by survey data prepared by The Economist. The majority of Americans also disapprove of Trump’s actions in the Iran war.

Similar negative results in other surveys

The results of the March Omnibus Survey look similar. From March 12 to 16, 2026, 1,033 registered voters nationwide were surveyed. Trump’s values ​​were sobering in several areas.

On immigration, his net approval rating – i.e. the difference between positive and negative opinions – was minus 12, and on foreign policy it was even minus 21. Trump also got minus 21 on the economy.

Overall, only 41 percent of respondents supported the US president’s administration, while 57 percent opposed it. Among other things, “Newsweek” reported comprehensively on the results.

Brett Loyd, an expert in opinion research and surveys, crunched the numbers. He told the US news magazine that while dissatisfaction is an important indicator, it does not automatically lead to votes for the other side.

“Just because someone thinks the president is handling the economy or immigration poorly doesn’t automatically mean he’ll switch to the other side,” the poll specialist said.

“Trump wants to die in the White House”

In any case, historian Snyder sees Trump facing major domestic political challenges. In an interview with “Zeit” he comes to a remarkable conclusion. “Trump wants to stay in power forever; die in the White House, with the Nobel Peace Prize around his neck, lying on clean sheets.”

If the Democrats won the midterm elections in November, the US President would have big problems. Synder: “That’s why, in my opinion, he won’t shy away from creating terrible chaos in the USA if necessary.”