{"id":298278,"date":"2026-04-06T12:51:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T16:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?post_type=short-read&p=298278"},"modified":"2026-04-06T12:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T16:54:12","slug":"republicans-have-become-less-likely-to-say-nato-membership-benefits-the-us","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2026\/04\/06\/republicans-have-become-less-likely-to-say-nato-membership-benefits-the-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans have become less likely to say NATO membership benefits the U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"President
President Donald Trump arrives to speak to the press following the NATO summit on June 25, 2025, in the Netherlands. (Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Republicans have become considerably less likely to say the United States benefits from being a member of NATO, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Around four-in-ten Republicans and GOP-leaning independents (38%) say the U.S. benefits a great deal or a fair amount from being part of NATO \u2013 down from 49% last year. <\/strong>A majority of Republicans (60%) now say the U.S. benefits not too much or not at all<\/em> from being part of the alliance, up from 50% in 2025. This marks the first time in our surveys that a majority of Republicans have expressed this view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey was fielded in late March, shortly before President Donald Trump said he was strongly considering withdrawing the U.S. from the military alliance in an interview published April 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, a majority of Americans (59%) continue to say the U.S. benefits from being a member of NATO.<\/strong> That\u2019s especially the case among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, 82% of whom see benefits for the U.S. Democratic opinion on this question has stayed relatively stable over the past five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats\u2019 views about NATO membership do not differ by age, but there are age divisions among Republicans. Younger Republicans \u2013 those ages 18 to 49 \u2013 are more likely than those 50 or older to say the U.S. benefits from being part of the alliance (42% vs. 33%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About this research<\/summary>\n

This Pew Research Center analysis examines Americans\u2019 attitudes about NATO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did we do this?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Pew Research Center does research to help the public, media and decision-makers understand important topics. This analysis builds on our previous work examining Americans\u2019 views of NATO<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about Pew Research Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did we do this?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

For this analysis, we surveyed 3,507 U.S. adults from March 23 to 29, 2026. Everyone who took part in the survey is a member of the Center\u2019s American Trends Panel<\/a>. The survey represents the views of the full U.S. adult population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the survey questions used for this analysis<\/a>, the detailed responses<\/a> and the survey methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

How Americans view Trump\u2019s decision-making on NATO<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The survey also finds that most Americans (63%) are not confident that Trump can make good decisions when it comes to working effectively with NATO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats to be very or somewhat confident that Trump can make good decisions when it comes to working effectively with NATO. Roughly six-in-ten Republicans (62%) say this, compared with 11% of Democrats. Among Democrats, around two-thirds say they are not at all confident<\/em> in Trump\u2019s ability to work effectively with the alliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among Republicans, views on this question again vary by age:<\/p>\n\n\n\n