Most Trump supporters still back NATO despite years of Trump's criticism, new poll finds
Most Americans, including majorities of Republicans and self-identified MAGA Republicans, say keeping the United States in NATO is important to the nation's security and prosperity, according to a new poll.
The Reagan Institute Summer Survey found that 73% of Americans say remaining in NATO matters to U.S. security and prosperity, including 64% of Republicans and 61% of MAGA Republicans. Fox News Digital obtained a preview of the survey, which will be made public Sunday.
The poll also found bipartisan support for NATO's collective defense principle. After respondents were told that NATO members are obligated to come to one another's defense if attacked, 76% of Democrats, 71% of Republicans and 69% of MAGA Republicans said they would support the U.S. responding with military force if a NATO ally were attacked.
The findings come as President Donald Trump continues to press NATO allies to shoulder more of the burden for the alliance's collective defense. During a White House meeting Wednesday with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Trump criticized several European allies for what he described as insufficient support during the recent U.S. operation against Iran, even as Rutte praised Trump's leadership and credited him with pushing NATO members to boost defense spending.
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The Reagan Institute Summer Survey was conducted May 26 through June 3 among 1,555 respondents nationwide and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. The survey used a mixed-mode methodology that included live telephone interviews, an online panel and text-to-web responses.
To better reflect the U.S. population, the results were weighted using demographic benchmarks from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2023 American Community Survey, including age, gender, race, region and education levels. The poll also included an oversample of 331 MAGA Republicans under age 30, a group with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
The Reagan Institute is a Washington-based policy organization that advocates the Reagan foreign-policy tradition of "peace through strength" and sustained American leadership abroad.
Trump met with Rutte Wednesday, who once again offered effusive praise for the American president during their White House meeting.
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"I really want to make clear how important it is what you are doing on Iran," Rutte told Trump. "This is first of all about the nuclear capability Iran was very near to getting its hands on,"
Trump, meanwhile, criticized several European allies for what he described as insufficient support during the U.S. operation against Iran.
"I was disappointed with Italy. I was disappointed with the UK," he said. "We were disappointed with Germany and France. We're disappointed with most of them. Spain is a horror show."
"We don't need their money, we don't need anything. We have the most powerful military in the world by far, but I just want loyalty," Trump said.
NATO's collective defense principle, known as Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, has been invoked only once in the alliance's 77-year history. NATO allies unanimously invoked the provision after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, declaring the attacks on the United States an attack on all members of the alliance.
Trump has long criticized NATO members for failing to meet alliance defense spending commitments — at times even threatening to pull out of the alliance — arguing the U.S. has carried a disproportionate share of its security burden.
During both his first and second terms, he has pushed allies to significantly increase military spending while warning that the U.S. should not bear the costs of Europe's defense alone.
The White House and NATO could not immediately be reached for comment.