A widening majority of Americans want Ukraine to prevail over Russia and support sending U.S. weapons to Ukraine to support that goal, according to survey data released Thursday.
Ukraine has bipartisan support from a majority of Republicans and Democrats surveyed, or 62 percent overall, according to the latest Reagan National Defense Survey. The results come after the Trump administration last month asked Ukraine to make deep concessions in terms of its territory and its ability to defend itself from further incursions.
“Overall, our Ukraine numbers have shifted across the board toward more support,” Rachel Hoff, policy director for the Ronald Reagan Institute, told reporters Monday. “Across other questions that we have in the poll, they perceive Russia as an adversary. They perceive Ukraine as an ally.”
Support for sending weapons to Ukraine has also jumped nine points, up to 64 percent, compared to last year’s survey, with increases in support from both sides of the aisle. And 70 percent overall, including 61 percent of Republicans and 77 of Democrats, say they don’t trust Russia to honor any peace agreement it might sign with Ukraine.
More specific questions about the Ukraine-Russia conflict found that 45 percent overall favor liberating all of Ukraine’s Russia-occupied territory, the top preference for both parties. About a quarter of respondents support Ukraine conceding some Russian-held territory in exchange for a long-term ceasefire, backed up by NATO security guarantees.
Support for NATO has also surged, according to survey data, as member countries have agreed to spend more on their self defense under pressure from President Trump. Support jumped to 68 percent, up 6 percent from the institute’s summer survey in June, the highest number since the survey began in 2018 with 59 percent.
“There are some other issues where you see Republican enthusiasm and support at the same time results in a loss of enthusiasm and support on the part of Democrats,” said Roger Zakheim, the institute’s director. “NATO is not one of them, and so to me, it reflects the durability of the bipartisan support of NATO and irrespective, at least from a Democratic standpoint, of who is the president … and there’s always been that same durable Republican support, but skeptical Republicans who did not favor NATO under Joe Biden’s leadership now have been swayed to support NATO, a result of President Trump’s policies and support for NATO.”
That Republican enthusiasm, particularly those who identify themselves as aligned with Trump’s MAGA movement, has also extended to support for the U.S. to lead abroad.
“We are at a high water mark of Americans preferring more of an engaged leadership approach on the international stage,” Hoff said, with 64 percent favoring more U.S. engagement abroad.
That includes nearly 80 percent of MAGA Republicans, she added.
“That upward trend that you’ll see from the low water mark of only 40% preferring a more engaged approach just three years ago, that upward trend is being driven by the Republican demographic,” Hoff said.
The survey also included some new questions to poll respondents on current events, including support for the administration’s proposed name change of the Department of Defense to the Department of War.
Fifty-nine percent of respondents disagree with the change, along sharp partisan lines: 58 percent of Republicans approve, compared to only 17 percent of Democrats.
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