World, Reordering: NPR/Ipsos Poll Reveals Trends in Americans' View of Foreign Policy

0:02Today on State of the World, we begin a new series. As global power dynamics shift, NPR is exploring the changing world order. In the coming days, NPR correspondents will be sharing the perspectives of Americans on big international events and what role they expect their country to play. We start the series with a new poll about the public's thoughts on U.S. involvement in foreign affairs. You're listening to State of the World from NPR, the day's most vital international stories, up close where they're happening. It's Friday, January 9th. I'm Christine Arismath. That poll, commissioned by NPR and Ipsos, surveyed participants across the political spectrum, and it highlights sharp partisan divides on key foreign policy issues.

0:55To begin, NPR roving national correspondent Frank Langford tells what he's been hearing from poll participants about the direction of foreign policy under President Donald Trump. He spoke to Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep. After the United States seized Venezuela's leader, President Trump sat for a long interview with the New York Times. Asked about what, if anything, restrains him in foreign policy, Trump said only, quote, my own morality, my own mind. A new NPR Ipsos poll out today found that Americans across the political spectrum want the U.S. to be the moral leader of the world, but far fewer believe it actually is.

1:35NPR's Frank Lankfit has been reading the numbers. Hey there, Frank. Hey, Steve. What do you see in this survey? Well, movement in public opinion. We've asked this question before. Back in 2017, a strong majority of people, 60%, they saw the U.S. as the moral leader of the world. That's now down to just 39%. Also, in the last decade, you've seen more people believing and thinking that the U.S. foreign policy should really benefit America and Americans. Republicans feel especially strongly about that. And then Democrats, by contrast, they're a lot more focused on supporting democracy and human rights overseas.

2:10What did you hear when you talked with some of the people who took this poll? Well, one thing is that one thing's really interesting is half the people thought the U.S. is losing influence in the world. And on the morality question, I talked to this woman, Suzanne Watson. She's a retired nurse. She lives out in Colorado. She's a political independent. This is what she said. Up until Trump was elected, we were doing OK. I certainly wouldn't call us the moral leader. We were bullies. We did fairly awful things, but we did a lot of good. And at least on the surface, we tried. And I think that's all given up.

2:44Frank, I just want to note that this NPR-Ipsos poll was conducted back in December. Events are moving so rapidly that already seems like a long time ago. They are moving very fast. Any idea about what people think about America's attack on Venezuela? Yeah, well, there was a separate Ipsos poll out this week, and people are split on removing Maduro. One-third for, one-third against, one-third weren't sure. And this is part of a larger division I think that we're seeing on foreign policy these days. Yesterday, I also – I drove up to a Trump merchandise store up north of Philadelphia and I talked about a half dozen customers there.

3:19All of them, Steve, strongly support Trump's policies overseas. They see him as bold and assertive. There's this guy named Wes Alker. He's 70 years old, a retired auto mechanic. This is what he told me. I think that what he did in the rant was a masterpiece. peace. What really, really surprised me was what he did in Venezuela. Holy moly. I heard about it. I got up from off the couch and I danced. We got someone in the Oval Office with freaking balls. Okay. But did any Trump supporters express skepticism about Venezuela? They did. There's a guy named David Harris that I talked to. He voted for Trump twice.

3:57He works in electronic and TV repair down in Alabama. And he's 55. He'd like to retire, But he says it's really hard in this economy. And I asked him if he were talking to the president, what would he say to him? I'd tell him to put America first like he promised he was going to do and stop worrying about these rich companies and oil and other countries and concentrating more on our economy and helping the people of this country, regardless if they're rich or poor and not Venezuelans. And Steve, when I was talking to Harris, he also said that the first thing he thought when he heard about Maduro and the Americans going into Venezuela is he thought, this is not what I voted for.

4:37Amazing. Kind of a Rorschach test, people measuring Trump against their ideas of what Trump should have been. Indeed. NPR's Frank Lankfitt, thanks so much. Happy to do it, Steve.

4:50For more on NPR's coverage on the changing world order, put world reordering in your search engine. You'll be hearing these stories on NPR programs, as well an NPR app exclusive podcast. NPR Explains, the changing world order, launches in coming weeks with perspectives from both in and outside the U.S. That's the State of the World from NPR. Thanks for listening.