SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
The Trump administration has given a number of reasons for striking Iran, including that it was an imminent threat and keeping Iran from having nuclear weapons and regime change, and this.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MARCO RUBIO: We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn't preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties and perhaps even higher, those killed.
SIMON: Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday. He backed off those comments the next day and cited Iran's growing arsenal of weapons as the reason President Trump decided to attack. NPR senior contributor Ron Elving joins us now. Ron, thanks so much for being with us.
RON ELVING, BYLINE: Good to be with you, Scott.
SIMON: And the president told reporters Tuesday that he might've forced Israel's hand in this. But the message the administration's been putting out has been confused and contradictory at times, hasn't it?
ELVING: At least the stated reasons for this war have changed day to day and become a bit ad hoc, meaning that they depend on the question at hand and who is asking. Sometimes they seem intended for the whole country to hear. Other times, they seem tailored to a target audience. What we just heard from Secretary Rubio seemed to lean on the crucial role played by Israel. But for a segment of Trump's supporters, that's not a welcome message. They expect the emphasis to be on U.S. interests, period.
Also this week, we have seen Trump pursue interviews with several legacy media, not his usual cable or online or social media friends, but old-fashioned newspapers and broadcast TV - the media that Trump grew up with - possibly in an attempt to widen his base of support.
SIMON: In some of those interviews, he said that people like what he's doing, even love what he's doing. But polling doesn't reflect that enthusiasm - does it? - even among his supporters.
ELVING: Trump loves to provide feedback on his own policies and call it public opinion. And surely, there are those who are delighted to see the ayatollah taken out, thrilled at another show of high-tech-uous (ph) military prowess. But that's not what independent polling is finding the country wants as a whole. The latest PBS/NPR/Marist poll this week found 56% of Americans oppose the attacks on Iran. Just 44% support them. That tracks with other current polls and with earlier polls that suggested it as a hypothetical question.
So there's more support among Republicans - no shock there. But as you say, there are many in the GOP coalition who want more emphasis on economic anxieties at home, such as the disappointing job market numbers yesterday suggested. And those differences play out dramatically in the various Trump-aligned media. These are usually a source of strength for the president, so the White House will need to work to get Republicans back together on what are usually their strongest unifying issues, the economy and immigration.
SIMON: And speaking of that topic, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was in the hot seat on Capitol Hill this week, grilled about the administration's crackdown and other issues. But by Thursday afternoon, she was out of her job. Do we know what might've been the breaking point?
ELVING: Not definitively, no. But here, again, facets of the coalition have their own views on Noem. Trump in the past has rallied behind aides and nominees who defended him and themselves well and strongly against hostile questioning. Some of those embattled Trump allies have fired back, gotten tough on their questioners, but Noem did not fare well in these hearings. And she may have erred when she said Trump had approved her $220 million ad campaign for the Department of Homeland Security, a campaign some saw as self-promotion for Noem. At any rate, Trump later denied any knowledge of it, and Noem was out soon thereafter.
And Trump's choice to replace her, Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin, is a completely different actor in the role - self-made businessman, worth many millions. And you might remember him as the martial arts fighter who once offered to throw down to a labor leader in the middle of a Senate hearing. But Mullin's not just a one-dimensional tough guy. He's known for working with party leadership, looking for avenues of agreement, talking across differences. It will be a new day at Homeland Security.
SIMON: Well, NPR senior contributor Ron Elving. Always good to talk to you, particularly in these pressing times. So thanks very much for being with us.
ELVING: Thank you, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
