Trump on 'extraordinarily narrow ledge' as he takes on war at his lowest point: journalist

President Donald Trump has little room to maneuver politically after pushing the nation into war with Iran, according to a veteran journalist.

The 79-year-old president ordered the airstrikes at his lowest approval yet, and early polling shows just one in four Americans approve of the operation, and CNN's Ron Brownstein said that leaves Trump in a perilous position.

"They seem to be staggering toward the rationale they're likely to stick with, which is this is about degrading their military capability, not transforming the country," Brownstein said. "I would just say that [as] he starts this war, the president is on an extraordinarily narrow ledge in public opinion. Republican voters are with him, Republican legislators are with him, but there is very little tolerance for any cost of this whether it's casualties or simply higher costs at the pump."

Polling shows no appetite for a long-term military operation, even among Republicans, but national security reporter Alexander Ward said it's clear the administration does not yet have a long-term strategy in place.

"Look, this is wartime jazz," said Ward, a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. "The administration is absolutely improvising in real time, and war is hell, even when you have best-laid plans and when things are going even remotely well."

Host Audie Cornish cut in to marvel at his turn of phrase.

"I've never heard that term, but it's terrifying – wartime jazz," she said.

Ward said the president and administration officials have openly admitted that there's no plan in place for what comes after the weekend bombing raid took out Iran's entire leadership structure.

"They're saying that openly, they're, like, quite literally admitting that this is all being done in real time," Ward said, "and if you're the American public you want to know what the government is doing in your name, and you want to know that if you're going to war and you're risking the lives of American sons and daughters, and it's been six so far, then that you actually know what you're aiming to achieve and in this case, they are literally saying, we'll figure it out as we go along."

Trump hasn't ruled out sending in U.S. troops and the administration has also reportedly armed Kurdish factions, but the president and his top officials have said they don't know who will step up to take control of the country next.

"The backdrop for all this, you're eight months from midterm election with a president who is starting at his lowest approval rating, really, at any point of his two terms," Brownstein said. "Starting the war at his lowest point in public approval, only eight months from an election, undertaking a totally volitional war of choice that most Americans oppose. Yes, Republicans are in line now, but the clock is ticking toward November."

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