Will Trump's approval ratings improve if he starts a war? (Details)

Forgot to mention that allegedly, the US has a second carrier group heading to the Korean peninsula…

Hmm, but didn’t the people who think G.W. Bush saved us from Iraqi invasion, already support Bush before he invaded Iraq?

I’d like to think that Trump attacking North Korea would not improve his ratings, but I think the “swing” opinions on Trump are probably mostly right-wingers who are rightly appalled by his various idiocies and outrages. My guess about such people is that more of them than not might indeed “fall in line with the chief” during war, even if he starts it himself.

Certainly the news media suddenly went “OOh! How PRESIDENTIAL!” when he stupidly wasted piles of cruise missiles in a posturing attack on Syria after the alleged gassing of civilians by Syria.

Along the lines of what @Zaku said, it would solidify his base, but there would not be a jump.

And, it would have to be a conflict that could easily be seen as addressing a threat. A pre-emptive strike on N Korea, especially without the support of S Korea, Japan, and China, would be a difficult sell.

His Yemen incursion failed once people found out he was off watching TV during the operation.

It’s so confusing to me that war improves ratings. Ass backwards.

He needs to get Russia and China to say ,“yeah something needs to be done about Kim” and he says great I will do it, then his approval rating will go up, at least with his extreme right wingers.

It’s not necessarily war, it’s high profile foreign actions. So anything that helps define a “them” we feel more united against.

It’s called a lot of things, but the rally around the flag effect is probably one of the clearest.

His approval ratings would improve if he dropped dead from carrying the enormous weight of his fat head.

Only if he wins it and quickly.

I doubt it.

Only if NATO is on board. And by a miracle our allies, S. Korea and Japan don’t get hit by N. Korean Missiles. Also our bases would have to remain unharmed in the region. That would be hard.
Being many or our allies will remain unharmed, I don’t think it will help his ratings.

He might do something limited and surprising, possibly against ISIS, or some other upopular fiend, hoping that the Russian story might get buried and forgotten. He’s pretty stupid.

Anyone who thinks that firing the FBI director willl stop an investigation of such potential magnitude is really stupid and ignorant of how the system works. Add to that: Anyone too arragant to understand the people he serves, has no knowledge of recent American history, and reads out loud like an eight year-old, is definitey capable of starting a war thinking it could save his own sorry ass.

No. Only CNN’s rating will go up.

If we shipped a couple million whiny Dems to Brazil, one way, his numbers would rise significantly.
I would be happy to pass out pacifiers at the boarding.

His supporters would love a totalen Krieg.

There seem to be a lot of people here in the US that that are feeling a little neglected right now because they have been led to believe we are losing the respect of other nations and they seem to believe that when the US takes military action it increases the level of “respect” we receive throughout the world.

These are the same personality types who wanted a strong, domineering father figure in the WH and yes, it does fall along liberal/conservative lines. Liberals prefer a more nurturing form of government, one that feeds, protects, supports, trains, educates and reinforces the populace while conservatives prefer the “knocks the crap out of you and whoever else crosses the imaginary line.

So I think his approval rating would rise, at least in the short term among those conservatives that are waivering because of how badly he offends their moral sensibilities. And among those liberals who can be shamed into believing that not to support him, right or wrong, is un-patriotic.

@rojo Agree. Yep, it’s the “pull yourself up by your own boot straps” vs. ” Let me help you tie your shoes” mentality. Conservatives often are of that mindset that because they had to walk 20 miles to school in the snow with one sad little baked potato to keep their hands warm that everyone needs to suffer. Gah..such a tired and martyred and self serving tale of woe. haha

Lots of great answers here. I wish I could give more than 1 GA…

I’m actually very concerned about this. This situation is precisely what I was afraid of if Trump took office.

Worse than the fact that he is a piss poor diplomat, with a 3rd grade vocabulary, he has a obviously fragile ego. He shares many characteristics, with North Korea’s Kim. Both may lack the morality, intelligence, or care to de-escalate the tension. And both care more about themselves, than their own country/people.

Combine these traits with the fact that Trump is (gulp) the commander and fucking chief, of the most powerful military in the world. He could really screw the world up, and kill lots of people, in a short time.

@Coloma And remember the last part of their tale of woe, they arrived at school with a dime in their pocket, opened a lemon aide stand on the front porch, and purveyed that into a billion dollar fortune. Thus no need for minimum wage, health care, or any of them thar other sochalist dang notions,