A new Pew Research Center survey finds that a majority of Republicans now say that the United States doesn’t benefit much if at all from being part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), marking the first time that a majority of Republicans have expressed such a view.
The war launched Feb. 28 by the United States and Israel against Iran has resulted in traditional allies of the U.S. remaining neutral, not wading into a conflict that’s led to deaths, destruction, and a crippling oil chokepoint that has caused crude oil prices to spike. The alliance’s 32 nations have largely remained out of the public fray affecting the Middle East as negotiations between the countries at war remain ongoing though have so far led nowhere.
This new ambivalence between NATO and the U.S., and more specifically the Trump administration, is not new or unique. President Donald Trump has been critical of NATO since his first term, though relations have arguably reached their lowest levels in recent years—notably with a clear disconnect between the U.S. and allies as part of its endeavor to occupy Greenland.
NATO’s view among Americans, according to the Pew survey of 3,507 adults conducted from March 23-29 and published April 6, has simmered. Republicans especially have soured on the alliance and the perceived benefits to the U.S., with 60% believing the U.S. benefits “not too much or not at all” from being part of the alliance—up from 50% in 2025.
About 4-in-10 Republicans and GOP-leaning independents (38%) said the U.S. benefits a great deal or a fair amount from being part of NATO, which is down from 49% last year.
Moira Fagan, a research associate on Pew’s Global Attitudes team, told Military.com on Monday that Republican general favorability of NATO has been relatively consistent over the last few years even as the share of Republicans who believe the U.S. benefits from being a part of NATO is dropping.
“We see an interesting distinction in the survey results between how Republicans see NATO as a whole and if they believe the U.S. benefits from membership in the alliance,” Fagan said. “While 42% of Republicans express a positive view of NATO in general this year, this is not statistically different from the 45% of Republicans who said this last year.
“We see similarly low favorability numbers among Republicans in previous years, including across different presidential administrations.”
There has been “significant movement” in the declining share of Republicans who say the U.S. benefits from being a member of NATO, Fagan added, finding that although the trend is not as extensive as with NATO favorability, a “fairly consistent downtrend trend” has been observed among Republicans who think the U.S. benefits from NATO membership.
NATO Approval Along Party Lines
Democrats’ sentiments, meanwhile, have not changed significantly.
As a majority of Americans (59%) continue to say the U.S. benefits from being a member of NATO, the number is propped by Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents—82% of whom see benefits for the U.S.
Such numbers, according to Pew, have remained relatively stable over the past five years and factors like age have not led to party-specific rifts.
That’s not the case with those who identify as Republicans, however. Pew found that younger Republicans aged 18-49 are more likely than those 50 or older to say the U.S. benefits from being part of the alliance (42% vs. 33%, respectively).
“While a majority of Republicans are confident that Trump can make good decisions when it comes to U.S. policy toward Iran, fewer Republicans and Democrats say this now compared to last August,” Fagan said.
Republicans are also more likely than Democrats to say that military action against Iran will make their people better off, while Democrats are more likely to say it will make the Iranian people worse off.
A majority of respondents (57%) cited a favorable view of NATO in general, with agreement mostly consistent within the past year. However, Republicans are much less likely than Democrats to express a favorable view of the alliance (42% vs. 75%, respectively), part of a years-long trend.
Overall American approval of NATO shifted in April 2022, according to Pew, which was two months after Russia invaded Ukraine as part of the still ongoing war in Eastern Europe.
NATO a 'Paper Tiger'
The survey also occurred prior to an interview of Trump conducted by The Telegraph, in which the U.S. president described NATO as a “paper tiger.” Trump also stated that discussions are happening at the White House regarding reviewing membership, with administration officials weighing in on pulling out of the alliance entirely.
While Trump’s anti-NATO sentiment cannot be directly correlated to the findings of the survey and how it pertains directly to Republicans, Fagan said one could glean how such rhetoric can impact swaths of supporters.
“We see a notable decrease in the share of Republicans who see NATO membership as a benefit between our spring 2025 survey and this year’s survey—a time period that coincides with negative rhetoric from the president concerning NATO on a series of foreign policy issues,” Fagan said, adding how Trump’s “unfavorable comments” existed for years now, and that Republicans’ general favorability of the alliance has not shifted significantly over the past year.
When it comes to Americans’ confidence in Trump in relation to working effectively with NATO, 63% reported lacking confidence. This, too, fell largely among party lines as about 6-in-10 Republicans (62%) expressed confidence compared with 11% of Democrats—the latter including approximately two-thirds saying they are not at all confident in Trump’s ability to work effectively with the alliance.
The survey had a margin of error of +/- 1.9 percentage points.
