Most Americans oppose Trump’s foreign policy, poll shows
Tehran (Basirat): A majority of Americans disapprove of the way President Donald Trump is handling U.S. foreign policy and about half think the country’s global standing will deteriorate during the next year, according to new poll that highlighted the nation’s partisan divide on foreign issues.
The poll, conducted by Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research,
also found the public split about the president’s plan to remove U.S. troops
from Syria and possibly Afghanistan — and about a quarter don’t have an opinion
one way or the other.
Overall, the president receives low marks from the public for his job handling
foreign policy — 35 percent approve, while 63 percent disapprove. Like other
issues, the partisan divide is startling. While 76 percent of Republicans
approve, just 8 percent of Democrats say the same.
"I just think that any time you buddy up with Russia or North Korea, it’s going
to be bad business,” said Samantha Flowers, a 30-year-old third-grade teacher
from Columbia, Missouri.
"Also, the way that he’s handling our neighboring countries — Mexico in
particular. I think it just goes against our American values in general. We’ve
been a welcoming and compassionate country,” she said before starting to recite
words emblazoned on the Statue of Liberty, which reads in part: "Give me your
tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
Richard Cleaveland, a 65-year-old truck driver from Ogden, Utah, disagrees and
wholeheartedly backs Trump and his foreign policy.
"I think he’s doing a good job with North Korea. He’s done better than anybody
else has ever done. Nobody else has even got it this far with North Korea,” he
said referring to Trump’s meeting last year in Singapore with the North Korean
leader to discuss Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.
Turing to U.S. involvement in foreign wars, the poll showed 39 percent of
Americans approve of pulling the 2,000 American troops from Syria, and 35
percent say they disapprove. The president’s decision is supported by 56 percent
of Republicans and 26 percent of Democrats.
"I think it’s time for our troops to come home — Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria,” said
Cleaveland, who was interviewed on speaker phone as he drove his semitrailer
through western Kansas. "I lost a lot of good friends when I was in Vietnam. I
think that was a stupid war too.”
Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to say the U.S. should play a
more active role in solving the world’s problems.
Last month, Trump announced that Islamic State militants had been defeated in
Syria and that American troops would be brought home "now.” The plan triggered
the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and criticism from U.S. allies
and national security experts. Later, Trump and others appeared to adjust the
timeline, saying it will likely take several months to safely withdraw American
forces from Syria.
Americans have similar views about the president’s expected decision to pull at
least some U.S. troops out of Afghanistan. Forty-one percent said they would
approve of a pullout from Afghanistan versus 30 percent who disapprove.
"Our military shouldn’t be the world’s police,” said Robert Granger, a 44-year
old sales representative from Bristol, Tennessee. "We don’t belong in all of
these other countries. We need to pull our troops home and let the other
countries take care of themselves.”
The nation’s partisan divide is evident when it comes to Americans’ views of the
United States’ role in the world, its global standing and its relationships with
other nations.
Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to say the U.S. should play a
more active role in solving the world’s problems.
Forty-three percent of Democrats think the U.S. should be more active, compared
with 23 percent who think it should be less active; another 32 percent of
Democrats say the nation’s current role is about right.
Republicans see it differently. Four in 10 Republicans say the U.S. should be
less active in solving the world’s problems, while 46 percent think the current
role in world affairs is right. Just 13 percent of Republicans think the U.S.
role abroad should be more active.
Republicans also think the nation’s global standing and relationships with other
countries will improve or stay the same during the next year. Democrats largely
expect U.S. relations with other nations will worsen.
Forty-four percent of Republicans say the nation’s standing in the world will
improve and another 35 percent say it won’t change. By comparison, 77 percent of
Democrats think the country’s global standing will get worse.
"I feel like right now, with the way things are going with our current
president, that we will be seen as a joke,” said Tamika Allen, a 25-year-old
medical claims trainer from Houston, adding that America’s reputation around the
world wouldn’t diminish immediately, but slowly over time.
Source:TehranTimes