Americans Are More Bullish Than Ever About US Military Power

A majority of Americans want the United States to be a leading actor in global affairs and are in favor of supporting Ukraine and defending Taiwan, according to a new public opinion poll. The annual Reagan National Defense Survey, released on Thursday by the Reagan Institute, polled 2,507 U.S. adults from October 23 to November 3.

The survey found strong support among Americans for active U.S. engagementin the world, backed by longstanding alliances like NATO, seemingly at variance with the "America First" philosophy of President Donald Trump's administration.

Americans in general were confidence about the U.S. military's qualitative edge over America's top adversaries—55 percent said the U.S. had "superiority" in overall military strength against rising superpower China. A plurality of respondents—44 percent—said the U.S. should maintain a military "large enough to win separate wars against China and Russia at the same time."

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