Benefit From Rally Around The Flag Effect After Airstrike?

By Harry Enten
APR. 8, 2017 AT 5:03 PM

... Americans tend to react with greater enthusiasm when there is bipartisan support for an intervention. Trump’s actions have broad support in Congress, including from Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and stronger approval from Republicans like John McCain and Mitch McConnell. So the airstrike probably meets this criteria ...

Americans tend to give the president a boost when he’s acting against a major power. Most people would not define Syria as a major power. It’s a small country in the Middle East mired in a long, tragic civil war. Yet, Syria is also a proxy for other, more powerful countries ...

Americans seem to respond more positively when the U.N. Security Council gives its approval to a foreign endeavor. This is a clear no. Russia is on the Security Council and definitely does not approve of the U.S. strike. It doesn’t even see a need for a resolution disapproving of the chemical weapons attack. That said, most other nations on the Security Council deplored the chemical attack ...

Americans are more likely to rally behind a president at the beginning of his presidency. Trump is less than 100 days into his presidency, so this factor should work in his favor. Unlike other presidents, though, Trump has quickly built up a lot of dislike among independents and members of the opposing party. New presidents tend to get the benefit of the doubt — that’s why this point is on our list — but Trump is not your average new president ...

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/will-trump-benefit-from-a-rally-around-the-flag-effect-on-syria/