A new national survey suggests most Americans want the United States to play a leading role in world affairs and broadly support aiding Ukraine and defending Taiwan.
The latest Reagan National Defense Survey, released Thursday by the Reagan Institute, questioned 2,507 U.S. adults between October 23 and November 3.
Why It Matters
The findings point to strong public backing for active U.S. involvement overseas and for traditional alliances such as NATO—an outlook that contrasts with the more inward-focused “America First” rhetoric associated with President Donald Trump’s administration.
A majority of respondents expressed confidence in the U.S. military’s qualitative edge. Fifty-five percent said the United States enjoys “superiority” in overall military strength compared with China, while 44 percent favored maintaining a force “large enough to win separate wars against China and Russia at the same time.”
For countries like Ukraine and Taiwan, the results may be reassuring as they face mounting pressure from authoritarian neighbors. Whether this broad public support will consistently translate into specific U.S. policy or long-term commitments, however, remains uncertain.
What the Poll Shows
Sixty-four percent of those surveyed said it is better for the United States “to be more engaged and take the lead” in international events. Eighty-seven percent said it is important for the U.S. to have the most powerful military in the world, and 71 percent agreed that global peace is “more likely to be achieved” when the U.S. is the strongest power.
“Our findings show that Americans want the United States to lead globally, maintain a military strong enough to deter authoritarian adversaries, and stand by allies who are on the front lines of defending freedom,” the Reagan Institute said.
On the war in Ukraine, 62 percent of Americans—57 percent of Republicans and 72 percent of Democrats—said they want Ukraine to win against Russia. Support for sending U.S. weapons has climbed nine points to 64 percent, including 59 percent of Republicans and 75 percent of Democrats, according to the institute.
Views on Rivals, NATO, and Taiwan
China remained the country most widely seen as the top threat to the United States, named by 48 percent of respondents. Russia ranked second at 26 percent. An overwhelming 87 percent expressed concern about growing coordination among China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Support for NATO is also at its highest level since the Reagan Institute began conducting this survey, with 68 percent holding a favorable view of the alliance. Trump has at times questioned the U.S. role in NATO, though fears he might withdraw from the treaty have eased as European allies have increased defense spending.
Backig for defending Taiwan has climbed sharply since 2024. Beijing claims the self-governed island as its own and has threatened to use force if necessary to enforce that claim.
This year’s survey found:
- 70 percent would support moving U.S. military assets to the region if China attacked Taiwan (up 12 points).
- 71 percent would favor sending additional military equipment to Taiwan in that scenario (up 15 points).
- 60 percent would back committing U.S. forces to Taiwan’s defense (up 12 points).
“Support for defending Taiwan is strong, bipartisan, and growing,” the institute said.
Use of Force Against Drug Traffickers
The poll also asked about using U.S. military force against suspected drug traffickers in Latin America and the Caribbean. Overall, 62 percent supported such action, but opinions diverged along partisan lines: 90 percent of self-identified MAGA Republicans backed the idea, compared with 36 percent of Democrats, the report found.
Confidence in the U.S. Military
Despite strong support for global leadership, the survey showed a drop in Americans’ overall confidence in the military as an institution compared with 2018.
This year, 49 percent of respondents reported a great deal of confidence in the military—down 21 points since the first Reagan survey in 2018, though roughly unchanged from last year.
“The reason for that decline is the perception, on both sides of the aisle over the years, that the military has become politicized,” Rachel Hoff, policy director at the Reagan Institute, told Newsweek.
“There’s a widening partisan gap on trust in our military: confidence among Republicans has rebounded to 67 percent, while confidence among Democrats has dropped to 33 percent. Unfortunately, that divergence is what you might expect when the public starts to see the military through a political lens,” she said.
Still, nearly half of Americans remain confident in the military’s core mission:
- 49 percent said they trust the military to win a war overseas (up 5 points from 2022).
- 45 percent said they trust it to deter foreign aggression (up 3 points over the same period).
Technology, Missile Defense, and AI
When asked about technology and defense, a bipartisan 68 percent favored a major increase in federal spending to develop the Golden Dome system designed to protect the U.S. homeland from long-range missile threats.
Views on artificial intelligence in the military were more mixed. Twenty-seven percent said deeper AI integration in the U.S. military is a good idea, up from 20 percent in 2023, while 24 percent said it is a bad idea, down from 27 percent two years ago, the institute reported.
What People Are Saying
Rachel Hoff, the Reagan Institute’s policy director, told Newsweek: “Americans have consistently shown that they want the United States to lead, not withdraw, from the world. This year, nearly two-thirds say the United States should be more engaged internationally.
“Our polling consistently shows that MAGA Republicans in particular support U.S. leadership abroad, and President Trump himself has rejected the idea that the MAGA or America First are isolationist movements. Overall public support for defending Taiwan, aiding Ukraine, and deterring Iran aligns with the posture President Trump’s voters prefer: a ‘peace through strength’ approach to American leadership.”
