Republicans have become less likely to say NATO membership benefits the U.S. – Pew Research Center
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Read our research on:
Full Topic List
Read Our Research On:
|
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.
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 – down from 49% last year. A majority of Republicans (60%) now say the U.S. benefits not too much or not at all 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.
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.
Overall, a majority of Americans (59%) continue to say the U.S. benefits from being a member of NATO. That’s 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.
Democrats’ views about NATO membership do not differ by age, but there are age divisions among Republicans. Younger Republicans – those ages 18 to 49 – are more likely than those 50 or older to say the U.S. benefits from being part of the alliance (42% vs. 33%).
This Pew Research Center analysis examines Americans’ attitudes about NATO.
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’ views of NATO.
Learn more about Pew Research Center.
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’s American Trends Panel. The survey represents the views of the full U.S. adult population.
Here are the survey questions used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the survey methodology.
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.
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 in Trump’s ability to work effectively with the alliance.
Among Republicans, views on this question again vary by age:
Within both partisan groups, views also differ by ideology:
When it comes to NATO itself, a majority of Americans (57%) have a favorable view. This figure has remained relatively consistent over the past year, among Republicans and Democrats alike.
Still, Republicans are much less likely than Democrats to express a favorable view of the alliance (42% vs. 75%). This is a consistent pattern we have observed in previous surveys.
Republicans and Democrats both differ somewhat by age in their views of NATO: Republicans ages 18 to 49 are more likely than their older counterparts to express a positive view (49% vs. 34%). By contrast, older Democrats are more likely than younger ones to have a favorable opinion (80% vs. 71%).
While favorable views of NATO have not shifted much in the U.S. over the past year, they have changed over the longer term. Americans are less likely to see the alliance favorably today than in April 2022, not long after Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.
Note: Here are the survey questions used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the survey methodology.
Topics
Moira Fagan is a research associate focusing on global attitudes research at Pew Research Center.
Sneha Gubbala is a research analyst focusing on global attitudes research at Pew Research Center.
901 E St. NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20004
USA
(+1) 202-419-4300 | Main
(+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries
ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan, nonadvocacy fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It does not take policy positions. The Center conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, computational social science research and other data-driven research. Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder.
© 2026 Pew Research Center
We use cookies and other technologies to help improve your experience; some are necessary for the site to work, and some are optional. Learn more in our privacy policy.
These cookies are required for the website to function and cannot be switched off.
These cookies are used to collect information about how you use our website.
These cookies are used to track your activity and show you personalized content.
These cookies allow the website to remember choices you make.