Heading into the 2024 elections, foreign policy is at the forefront of many Americans' minds as conflicts rage in Europe and the Middle East.
Here are Five Facts on Americans' views on foreign policy.
- Four in 10 Americans view foreign policy as a top-five issue in 2024.
This is double the percentage of Americans who viewed foreign policy as a major issue heading into 2023, according to the Associated Press.
2. Most Republicans now think the United States should “stay out of world affairs.”
This represents a significant change from recent decades, where anywhere from 60-80 percent of Republicans felt America should play an “active part” in world affairs. However, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ annual public opinion poll also found that a majority of Republicans opposed to Donald Trump support continued aid to Ukraine.
3. Forty-three percent of Americans think the West should support Ukraine until Russia withdraws from Ukraine.
Just 23 percent of Americans would “encourage a negotiated peace to end the fighting, even if this means Russia still has control over some parts of Ukraine.” The YouGov/EuroTrack poll from Jan. 5 - Feb. 4 also found that 46 percent believe the West is not doing enough to help Ukraine.
4. Only 19 percent of Americans say the U.S. is doing “too much” to help Israel.
In the wake of the October 7th Hamas attacks that left more than 1200 Israelis dead, 39 percent of Americans polled by Gallup say the U.S. is doing “not enough” to help Israel and 41 percent say it is doing “the right amount.”
5. Half of Americans think China is the biggest threat to America.
Conversely, according to Pew Research, only 17 percent of Americans believe Russia is the largest threat America faces today. No other country besides Russia or China was named by more than 2 percent of Americans as our biggest threat.
