How Americans Really Feel About NATO

• A Newsweek poll has found that a large majority of American voters are in favour of NATO in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
• A large majority said they were either strongly supportive or supportive of continued U.S. membership of NATO.
• Respondents were split on whether alliance members should spend more on defense and whether the U.S. should continue to defend those nations that fail to meet bloc spending targets.

American voters broadly support continued membership of the transatlantic NATO alliance, a Newsweek poll has found, as the expanding bloc undergoes a political rejuvenation in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The poll—which was conducted on April 4 by Redfield & Wilton Strategies on behalf of Newsweek and surveyed 1,500 eligible U.S. voters—found that a large majority of American voters are in favor of the continued participation of the U.S. in NATO as the alliance rallies in defense of Ukraine.

But those surveyed were split on whether alliance members should spend more on defense, and whether the U.S. should continue to defend those nations that fail to meet bloc defense spending targets—a potent grievance of NATO-skeptic American politicians including former President Donald Trump.

Most respondents said they were "significantly" (31 percent) or "fairly" (36 percent) aware of what NATO is and the role that it serves; that is, a military alliance built on the foundation of collective defense. Twenty-five percent said they were "slightly aware" of what NATO is, and nine percent were "not at all aware."

A large majority said they were either strongly supportive (38 percent) or supportive (30 percent) of continued U.S. membership of NATO. Nineteen percent of respondents said they were indifferent, while only seven percent either opposed (4 percent) or strongly opposed (3 percent) American involvement in the 74-year-old alliance.

James Rogers, co-founder and director of research at the U.K.'s Council on Geostrategy, told Newsweek the poll results indicate "that the American public, broadly, are actually quite deeply committed" to NATO.

The strong support for NATO membership expressed chimes with other polls conducted since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. A Pew Research Center survey published in June 2022 found that 67 percent of Americans held a positive opinion of NATO—up 6 percent on one year before.

A Chicago Council on Global Affairs survey from October 2022 indicated similar pro-alliance sentiment, with 81 percent of Americans saying the U.S. should maintain (62 percent) or increase (19 percent) its commitment to NATO.

Fabrice Pothier, a former director of policy planning for NATO, told Newsweek of the survey results: "I think it's more positive than one might have expected, especially when you hear some of the noises in Congress about NATO burden sharing, and about Ukraine.

"I think it confirms that there is still a solid base of support, not just in the U.S., but I think you would probably get fairly similar results in Europe."

Americans have generally long been supportive of NATO membership, though during Trump's time in office there was much talk about whether the alliance was still fit for purpose. The former president—who has made clear his plans to run again in 2024—reportedly even considered withdrawing from the bloc while in office, horrifying national security aides and allies.

"Burden sharing" was a key motivation for Trump, who—like many others in the American national security establishment—was frustrated by the continued failure of NATO allies to work towards the 2 percent of GDP defense spending target adopted by alliance members in 2014, which even now a majority of states have failed to reach.

The U.S. spends the highest proportion of GDP on its defense of any NATO country other than Greece—3.47 percent as of 2022. Greece spends 3.76 percent. Eight other countries of the bloc's 31 members have reached or surpassed the 2 percent target.

A minority of respondents—48 percent—said the U.S. should still be committed to defending NATO allies who fail to reach the 2 percent spending threshold. Twenty-two percent were unsure, but a significant minority of 30 percent said the U.S. should not have to protect member states that are not reaching the defense expenditure target.

NATO's charter makes no differentiation between states based on their defense expenditure, not least because the 2 percent target was only adopted in 2014. Still, the responses hint at the deep-seated American frustration with allies perceived not to be pulling their weight, especially with the return of major warfare to Europe.

Those surveyed appeared unsure on whether to increase the defense spending target. Twenty percent of respondents said the 2 percent figure is too high, while 24 percent said it is too low. Thirty-three thought the target was "about right," and 22 percent said they did not know.

American vexation at the sluggish spending habits of some NATO allies is not likely to be eased any time soon, though some member states are already pushing for the spending target to be increased at NATO's next annual summit to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July.

"The U.K. and the U.S. will both be pushing this quite strongly, and I suspect the Poles and the Baltics as well," Rogers said. But most NATO states are not part of this leading, more hawkish, pack.

"The majority of allies, unless they really pull their fingers out in the next year, are simply not going to be able to meet that commitment," Rogers said.

Newsweek has contacted NATO by email to request comment.