"In the last decade, Democrats and Republicans have started to drift apart on the things that they consider most important," says Director of Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Craig Kafura, drawing on Council survey results.
American public opinion is increasingly at odds with US President Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy. Fifty years of Chicago Council on Global Affairs polling reveals why the "America First" agenda has prevailed—and where it might break down.
Fifty years of Chicago Council on Global Affairs polling reveals significant reservoirs of cross-party agreement and a strong base of public support for a more cooperative approach to world affairs.
"America has had military bases in Greenland for decades,” says Council Director of Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Craig Kafura. "The idea of needing to conquer Greenland, needing Greenland to be part of the United States for U.S. national security just isn't true."
The US capture of Venezuela’s Maduro echoed intents outlined by Trump in the 2025 National Security Strategy. While the action might have appealed to his Republican base, the strategy’s principles are mostly out of step with US public opinion on America’s engagement in the world.
"Beijing’s efforts to strike a nationalist chord among Chinese citizens regarding Taiwanese unification might not be easily transmitted," the Council's Dina Smeltz and Craig Kafura write.
"There are some encouraging signs if you’re sitting in China and you’ve been arguing for a more diplomacy-heavy approach toward the United States," Craig Kafura says.
