That is the shock finding of a new poll from the Ronald Reagan Institute of American opinions on foreign policy and national security. The good news, the survey finds, is that amid today’s global chaos, “Americans of all political stripes want our country to stand up to the tyrants in Moscow, Tehran, and Beijing as well as the terrorists in the Middle East.”
But hidden in the cross-tabs is a stunning breakdown of the foreign policy views of MAGA and non-MAGA Republicans. The Reagan Institute asked GOP voters, “Do you consider yourself a supporter of the Make America Great Again, or MAGA, movement?” Nearly two-thirds said yes, while a third said no. The result is perhaps the most in-depth study of the foreign policy views of MAGA Republicans.
And on every metric measured — from support for NATO, Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, to concerns about democracy, human rights, China and U.S. leadership — those self-identified MAGA Republicans are more hawkish, and less isolationist, than their non-MAGA GOP brethren.
Americans of all political persuasions say that politicians should prioritize problems at home over foreign affairs, the Reagan Institute poll finds, including both MAGA (70 percent) and non-MAGA Republicans (68 percent).
But this does not mean they want the United States to withdraw from the world. Quite the opposite, a 51 percent majority of MAGA voters believe the United States should be “more engaged and take the lead” on foreign policy, while just 39 percent say the United States should be “less engaged and react to events” — a 12-point spread in favor of U.S. leadership.
By contrast, only 48 percent of non-MAGA Republicans support more U.S. engagement, while 44 percent say we should be less engaged.
When asked if “the U.S. has a moral obligation to stand up for human rights and democracy whenever possible in international affairs,” 73 percent of MAGA Republicans agree we do, compared with 69 percent of non-MAGA Republicans — including a 40 percent plurality of MAGA voters who “strongly agreed” compared with just 33 percent of non-MAGA Republicans. And a 79 percent supermajority of MAGA voters also “strongly agree” that “a strong U.S. military is essential to maintaining peace and prosperity, both at home and abroad,” compared with 66 percent of non-MAGA Republicans.
MAGA voters also disproportionately support NATO.
A 53 percent majority say they hold a favorable view, slightly higher than non-MAGA Republicans (50 percent). A 63 percent majority of MAGA voters agree that “protecting freedom and democracy on the continent” is an important benefit of being in NATO (compared with just 49 percent of non-MAGA Republicans) while 73 percent of MAGA voters say “checking the Russians so that they do not acquire more territory and power” is important (just 60 percent of non-MAGA Republicans say that).
There is also strong support for the collective defense enshrined in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. When asked if they would support “the U.S. responding with military force if a NATO ally in Europe was attacked” fully 69 percent of MAGA Republicans said they would (versus 63 percent of non-MAGA Republicans).
However, MAGA voters support for defending allies plummeted 23 points to 46 percent if that country is not meeting its commitment to spend 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense. Even then, MAGA voters were slightly more supportive of defending the underspending ally than non-MAGA Republicans (43 percent). Bottom line: Trump was fully in line with his MAGA supporters when he declared in March he will “100 percent” remain in NATO but will insist that allies carry their weight when it comes to military spending.
Seventy percent of MAGA voters agree it is important to the United States that Ukraine win the war with Russia (versus 64 percent of non-MAGA Republicans). Further, a 51 percent majority of MAGA Republicans believe Russia is currently winning the war, but only 8 percent want Russia to prevail (the trope that MAGA voters want Russia to win is a myth). And despite misgivings about Biden’s management of the war, a 47 percent plurality want to continue sending weapons to Ukraine.
Notably, after…
Read More: Opinion | The myth of MAGA isolationism