then Add to Home Screen.
Most Americans (55%) support using the National Guard to assist local police during major civil disturbances and to address violent crime, according to the Reagan National Defense Survey released last week.
The Ronald Reagan Institute in Simi Valley, California, has sponsored the often-quoted public opinion poll every year since 2018 to gauge public attitudes on key defense, foreign policy and national security issues.
Domestic use of the Guard was not the only recent defense development included in this year’s survey. Another question concerned changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War. A significant majority (59%) disapproved.
Strategic issues dominated what the Reagan Institute’s called the survey’s “key findings”:
American Leadership: A survey-record 64% of Americans said the United States should be more engaged and take the lead in international affairs.
Military Superiority: Eighty-seven percent believed it is important for the United States to have the most powerful military in the world, and 71% agreed peace is more likely when America is the strongest military power.
Golden Dome: Sixty-eight percent supported developing a homeland missile defense system.
Size of the Military: Nearly two-thirds (64%) said the U.S. military should be sized to fight and win two wars at once, including a significant plurality who support a force capable of defeating both China and Russia simultaneously.
Ukraine: A strong majority (62%) want Ukraine to prevail in its war with Russia, and 64% support sending U.S. weapons, up nine points from last year.
Latin America: Another strong majority (62%) support using military force against suspected drug traffickers in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Taiwan: If China invaded Taiwan, 60% would support committing U.S. forces to its defense —up from 48% last year. Seventy-seven percent believe it is important for the U.S. military to defend Taiwan against Chinese aggression.
NATO: Favorability toward NATO has reached its highest level ever at 68%, with strong bipartisan support for Article V commitments to defend any alliance member attacked.
The survey indicates trust and confidence in the U.S. armed forces is down slightly this year. Approximately 49% of respondents reported a great deal of confidence in the U.S. military, down two percentage points from last year. The figure was 46% in 2023 and 48% in 2022.
However, this year’s figure is still more than 20 points lower than in 2018, when 70% of respondents reported high confidence in the military.
But even at that lower level, the armed forces remain the country’s most trusted institution in the poll.
For comparison, 32% of those surveyed said they have a great deal of faith in law enforcement, 26% in the presidency, 19% in the Supreme Court, 14% in the news media and 11% in Congress.
Beacon Research and Shaw & Company Research conducted the survey, according to a Reagan Institute press release.
A bipartisan research team polled 2,507 Americans between Oct. 23 and Nov. 3, the release said.
Thirty-five percent of respondents described themselves as Republicans, 32% as Democrats and 30% as independents. Seventy-four percent said they completed at least some college.
—By John Goheen
