America first? Maybe not, if you ask Trump-voting Americans |
When US military elites gathered in Simi Valley on the weekend for the Reagan National Defence Forum, they were treated to some surprising results from the organisation’s annual survey. Support for the US sending weapons to Ukraine rose to an all-time high of 64 per cent. There was an increase in every demographic, but the biggest was among Republicans (44 to 59 per cent), and in particular, among MAGA Republicans (42 to 62 per cent).
Illustration by Dionne GainCredit:
Three in four Americans said it was somewhat or extremely important for the US military to defend Taiwan against Chinese aggression. Among Republicans and MAGA Republicans, the figure climbed above 80 per cent.
According to the survey, the proportion of Americans who support dispatching US forces to Taiwan’s aid in the event of a Chinese invasion is now 60 per cent, up from 48 per cent.
The combined telephone and online survey of 2500 Americans, undertaken in late October, suggests deep and widespread enthusiasm for the US being actively and seriously engaged in the world, from the Indo-Pacific to Europe.
In doing so, it defies the conventional wisdom about prevailing trends in US politics, and in particular Trump’s base. “The American people are not isolationist, and MAGA Republicans are not isolationist,” said the Ronald Reagan Institute’s policy director, Rachel Hoff.
She pointed out that on the broad question of whether it was better for the US to be more engaged in the world and take the lead, or less engaged and react to events, 64 per cent backed more engagement, climbing to 79 per cent among MAGA Republicans.
Mike Gallagher, a former Republican congressman turned head of defence at Palantir Technologies, said: “You could make the argument based on the survey data that MAGA Republicans … are more Reagan-esque in their views about the world than even non-MAGA Republicans.”
Now, some caveats. We should be sceptical when a historically hawkish outfit like the Reagan........