Most Americans in new survey say US should defend NATO allies

Many Americans hold a favorable view of NATO and say the U.S. should continue to defend its allies, according to a new survey.

The YouGov poll, released Friday, found 60 percent of respondents believe that the U.S. should defend its NATO allies if they are attacked. Just 13 percent say the country should not honor that commitment, and 26 percent of respondents said they were unsure.

NATO’s Article 5 provision describes that an attack on any member of NATO should be treated as an attack on all members. The survey found respondents had the most support for the United Kingdom (63 percent), followed by France (58 percent), Germany (55 percent), Poland (54 percent), Finland (54 percent) and Greece (52 percent).

Sweden, which has yet to be accepted into the alliance, also garnered 58 percent support, per the survey.

Democratic respondents were more likely than others to say that the U.S. should maintain its obligation to support other NATO countries in times of conflict. About 72 percent of Democrats agreed, while 53 percent of independent respondents and 56 percent of Republicans said the same.

Among Republicans, self-identified “MAGA” Republicans — or those closely aligned with former President Trump, who uses the “Make America Great Again” motto for his campaign — were less likely to support the U.S. sticking with its NATO allies. Forty-seven percent of MAGA Republicans said the commitment should be upheld, while 62 percent of self-identified “non-MAGA” Republicans said the same, the survey found.

Older Americans and college graduates were also more likely to say the U.S. should defend its NATO allies, per the poll.

The survey results come just after Trump expressed negative rhetoric about the alliance. The GOP presidential front-runner sparked international concern after he said he would encourage attacks on NATO members that failed to meet defense spending commitments.

The survey found that 54 percent of Americans strongly or somewhat disapprove of Trump’s NATO opinion and 23 percent approve — with Republicans closely divided on their support and a majority of Democrats disapproving of his statements around the alliance.

The survey was conducted Sunday through Tuesday among 1,562 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.