Americans believe US should focus more on domestic issues, but support leadership on world stage: poll
A majority of Americans believe the U.S. should focus more on issues at home and withdraw from foreign affairs, despite an increasing number of Americans believing the U.S. should be more engaged and take the lead when it comes to international events.
Just under two-thirds of Americans, 62%, believe the U.S. would be “better served by withdrawing from international affairs and focusing more attention on problems here at home,” according to the results of the Ronald Reagan Institute’s 2024 summer survey, which was shared exclusively with Fox News Sunday.
Despite that finding, the percentage of Americans who believe it’s important for the U.S. to be more engaged and take the lead in international events is on the rise, up 12 points in the last six months.
A majority, 54%, expressed support for a more engaged U.S. foreign policy, up from 42% in November. The latest figure includes 66% of democrats and 49% of republicans.
Ukrainian servicemen search a target with a U.S. Stinger air defense missile launcher on the front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on May 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)
“From this year’s Reagan Institute summer survey, we’re seeing an uptick in the numbers of Americans who really want to see and are seeking policies that reflect American leadership in the world, that reflects President Reagan’s principles of leadership, of strength on the global stage when it comes to the chaos and conflict that we’re seeing around the world,” Rachel Hoff, the policy director at the Ronald Reagan Institute, told Fox News Digital.
“The number of Americans seeking American leadership and engagement is at a five-year high,” she added.
Most Americans also said they believe U.S. involvement in international events is beneficial for both the United States (57%) and the world (61%).
Over three-fourths, 78%, of respondents indicated they agree that U.S. leadership and engagement in international affairs is “essential” for boosting the economy and securing favourable trade arrangements.
A similar amount of Americans, 77%, indicated they believe it is important for the U.S. to stand up for human rights and democracy around the world, while 86% indicated it was important for the U.S. to maintain a strong military that can maintain peace and prosperity both at home and around the world.
The poll comes amid continued debate over how involved the U.S. should be in defending Ukraine amid its war with Russia, with some arguing that the billions of dollars spent equipping the Ukrainian military would be better spent on domestic issues.
Down two percent since the same Reagan Institute survey last summer, 57% of Americans said they support sending military aid to Ukraine, compared to 32% who oppose it. Another 11% indicated they were unsure.
Americans also believe it is in the best interest of the U.S. that Ukraine win its conflict against Russia, with 75% saying it is important Ukraine win compared to 17% who indicated it was unimportant. There was no change in those percentages compared to last year’s survey.
Hoffman said the Reagan Institute’s data on Ukraine has stayed “remarkably consistent over time.”
“So we started asking questions about Ukraine, about American support and military aid for Ukraine’s efforts in their war against the Russian invasion, and those numbers have not shifted at all since 2022,” she said.
“Even with all the debate and discussion that we’re seeing in the media and on Capitol Hill about aid to Ukraine and the really important conversations that policy leaders are having, it’s really important to remember and recognize that the American people, in the middle of all those conversations, have made clear that they want to continue supporting America’s allies and our friends around the world that are standing up against aggression… and they want to do that by sending U.S. military aid to Ukraine.”
An Israeli soldier attaches an Israeli flag on top of an armored personnel carrier (APC) near Israel’s border with Gaza on April 15, 2024.
The survey also found that Americans believe Israel — a war-torn country that responded forcefully to the October 7, 2023, invasion by Hamas militants — should be supported by the U.S.
“Both republicans and democrats, in large numbers, want to support Israel in its fight against the Hamas terrorists in the Middle East,” Hoff said.
A majority of Americans, 56%, said they support sending aid to Israel, compared to 35% who said they oppose the effort. Another 68% said they support the U.S. sending missile defense systems to Israel to “help it defend against” drone or missile attacks.
“I think the more we drill down into what the American people want our government to be doing to support our allies and friends around the world, to push back on tyranny and terrorism and to support those fighting for freedom and democracy, those numbers only rise,” Hoff said.
Fifty-five percent of those surveyed also said they would support an Israeli counterattack against continued Iranian aggression, while 31% said they would oppose it.
Three-quarters of Americans, 75%, said they were concerned about humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
Seventy-four percent said they believe Israel’s war with Hamas matters to U.S. security and prosperity, compared to 73% who said the same for Ukraine’s war with Russia.
Americans also indicated concern over Chinese military build-up, with 82% saying they are “extremely” or “somewhat” concerned.
Other findings related to China included concern over the communist nation’s human rights violations (83%), technology theft (83%), overtaking the U.S. as the world’s superpower (75%), and the isolation of Taiwan (68%).
Based off previous Reagan Institute surveys, Hoff said public opinion on China “has been moving and shifting significantly over time” and that there’s an increasing number of Americans who are “seeing China as an adversary.”
“They’re concerned about, technology theft, economic practices, human rights abuses, abuses of the Chinese Communist Party, and they’re concerned about the Chinese military buildup,” she said.
A slim majority, 51%, said they believe the social media app TikTok, which is owned by a Chinese company that is closely connected to the Chinese government, should be banned in the U.S. Another 39% percent said they oppose a ban of the app, while 10% said they were unsure.
