Most MAGA Republicans say keeping U.S. in NATO is important, poll finds

Most Americans, including a majority of Republicans and self-identified MAGA Republicans, say keeping the United States in NATO is important to the country’s security and prosperity, according to a new poll.

The Reagan Institute Summer Survey found that 73% of Americans say remaining in NATO is important to the security and prosperity of the United States, including 64% of Republicans and 61% of MAGA Republicans. Fox News Digital has obtained a preview of the poll, which will be released to the public on Sunday.

The poll also found bipartisan support for NATO’s collective defense principle. After respondents were told that NATO members must defend each other if attacked, 76 percent of Democrats, 71 percent of Republicans and 69 percent of MAGA Republicans said they would support the United States responding with military force if a NATO ally was attacked.

The findings come as President Donald Trump continues to pressure NATO allies to shoulder more of the alliance’s collective defense burden. At a White House meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Wednesday, Trump criticized some European allies for what he described as inadequate support during the latest US operation against Iran; Rutte even praised Trump’s leadership and credited him with pushing NATO members to increase defense spending.

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The Reagan Institute Summer Poll was conducted among 1,555 respondents nationwide from May 26 to June 3 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. The survey used a mixed-mode methodology that included live telephone interviews, an online panel, and text-to-web responses.

To better reflect the U.S. population, results were weighted using demographic criteria from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey, which includes age, gender, race, region, and education levels. The poll also included an oversample of 331 MAGA Republicans under the age of 30, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

The Reagan Institute Summer Survey found that 73% of Americans say remaining in NATO is important to the security and prosperity of the United States, including 64% of Republicans and 61% of MAGA Republicans. (Communication / Latin American News Agency, via Reuters Connect)

The Reagan Institute is a Washington-based policy organization that advocates the Reagan foreign policy tradition of “peace through strength” and enduring American leadership abroad.

Trump met with Rutte on Wednesday, and Rutte once again offered effusive praise to the American president at the White House meeting.

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“I want to make it clear how important what you are doing on Iran is,” Rutte said to Trump. “This is, first and foremost, about the nuclear capability that Iran is very close to acquiring.”

Trump, meanwhile, criticized some European allies for what he called inadequate support during the US operation against Iran.

NATO’s principle of collective defense, known as Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, has been applied only once in the alliance’s 77-year history. NATO allies unanimously enacted this provision after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, declaring attacks on the United States as an attack on all members of the alliance. (Ben Stansall/Pool via Reuters)

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“I’m disappointed in Italy. I’m disappointed in England too,” he said. “Germany and France let us down. We let most of them down, too. Spain is a horror show.”

“We don’t need their money, we don’t need anything. We have by far the strongest military in the world, but I just want loyalty,” Trump said.

NATO’s principle of collective defense, known as Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, has been applied only once in the alliance’s 77-year history. NATO allies unanimously enacted this provision after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, declaring attacks on the United States as an attack on all members of the alliance.

Trump has long criticized NATO members for failing to meet the alliance’s defense spending commitments, sometimes even threatening to withdraw from the alliance and arguing that the United States carries a disproportionate share of the security burden.

While he pushed his allies to significantly increase military spending in both his first and second terms, he warned that the United States should not shoulder Europe’s defense costs alone.

The White House and NATO could not immediately be reached for comment.