US Support For NATO Grows After Donald Trump's Threats

Americans are increasingly throwing their support behind NATO, a new poll has revealed.

This month, 64 percent of voters who were quizzed on the issue said they supported NATO; a jump of 2 percentage points since the same question was posed back in November. The poll, commissioned by Newsweek and conducted by pollsters Redfield & Wilton Strategies, comes after presidential hopeful Donald Trump criticized the alliance and blasted other member states by accusing them of not pulling their weight.

NATO, which stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was set up in 1949 and its "purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means," the organization says on its website. There are currently 31 member countries, including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and other European countries, including France, Germany, and Italy.

The latest poll suggests that support for NATO has grown slightly as much of the world grapples with politically and militarily troubling times. Current global conflicts include the war between Israel and Hamas, the war between Russia and Ukraine, terrorist attacks on western ships from Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, and Chinese threats against Taiwan and U.S. Navy ships.

A new poll asking Americans their views on the organization showed that a clear majority are in favour of belonging to the alliance.

When voters were asked on February 10 whether they supported or opposed the U.S. being a member of NATO, a total of 64 percent either supported or strongly supported belonging to the alliance. That is a slight jump from 62 percent, who were supportive when the same question was asked on November 4 last year.

In contrast, just 7 percent opposed or strongly opposed the U.S.'s membership this month; a fall from 10 percent who were opposed back in November. The remaining respondents did not know what their opinion was, or said they neither supported or opposed the membership.

The U.S. membership of NATO has been increasingly under the spotlight recently as the organization's authority has been tested as a result of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago. Neither Russia nor Ukraine are NATO members, but war has made neighboring European countries and NATO members jumpy as Poland and others fear Russian president Vladimir Putin may target them next. NATO nations have also been concerned recently at the threat of Russian deployment of nuclear weapons in space.

And presidential hopeful Donald Trump—who is currently campaigning for a second term in the White House—sparked controversy with his recent comments about NATO.

The current Republican frontrunner drew fierce condemnation from the White House, the media, and prominent U.S. figures, after threatening to withdraw American support from countries who did not pay their NATO dues.

He went as far as saying that he would "encourage" countries like Russia to "do whatever the hell they want" to member states of the military alliance, despite them being U.S. allies. Biden described his comments as "un-American" and suggested Trump had effectively "bowed down to a Russian dictator." But Trump insisted other NATO countries needed to "pay their bills" and "should equalize with the U.S."

Newsweek has reached out by email to both the White House and representatives for Trump seeking comment on the poll's findings.

Pollsters Redfield & Wilton Strategies, which conducted the survey on behalf of Newsweek, has been asking voters the same series of questions at regular intervals and will continue to do so throughout the presidential race. The answers look set to provide a fascinating snapshot of the changing views of the electorate as they react to topical issues and the response of the rival campaigns.

Some 1,500 people were quizzed by the poll. The respondents to the survey are recorded as being male or female, and have various ethnicities and education levels. Their ages range from 18 to 59+, meaning that Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X, and Boomers are all represented in the survey.