Who’s next? Majority of Republicans support Trump getting the US military involved in more countries

The majority of Trump voters now back greater military intervention in other countries, according to a new poll, despite the president’s previous pledge to take the U.S. out of foreign wars.

His supporters gave greatest backing to an attack on Iran, with 51 percent approving of military strikes on the Middle Eastern nation, Politico’s survey found. That number was even higher those who described themselves specifically as MAGA Republicans, at 61 percent.

Trump is still mulling strikes in Iran after weeks of protests left thousands of people in the country dead. Earlier this week the president warned the regime an American armada was headed to the Middle East, while claiming “time was running out” for Tehran to make a deal.

Democrats, by comparison, were broadly against any such intervention in Iran, with only 18 percent of people who cast their ballots for Kamala Harris in 2024 backing the move.

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Trump has adopted an increasingly aggressive foreign policy since he returned to office last year. This month alone, the administration has forced regime change in Venezuela while also demanding Greenland becomes a U.S. territory.

Despite his voters’ increasing enthusiasm for international intervention, Trump was elected on a promise of removing the U.S. from costly overseas wars and prioritizing “America First”.

However, the actual definition of Trump’s infamous mantra has become flexible for his supporters, Amy Walter, editor-in-chief of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, told Politico.

“If you believe the Trump theory that our goal is to do everything we can to protect Americans, and that includes taking out bad people in certain places, then that’s America First,” she said.

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However, she told Politico that there is an important caveat to support for Trump’s newfound interventionism.

While military action is broadly supported by his base, long-term involvement or more direct efforts that put U.S. soldiers at risk are not.

“If he said tomorrow that we’re going to send troops into the Middle East or we’re going to put boots on the ground in Venezuela, that is one thing that would break the coalition apart,” she said.

Republicans have urged caution over Iran for this very reason.

"It really needs to come organically from the people of Iran,” Representative Nicole Malliotakis told Fox News. “At some point, they’ve got to take ownership and leadership.

“Boots on the ground, you know, foreign intervention and costly overseas wars have been borne out to be pretty ineffective in the long run.”

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Support amongst Trump voters for international military intervention also splits depending on which countries are the potential targets.

Most Trump voters were against intervening in Greenland, for example, despite the president’s previous threats.

Just 21 percent of his 2024 voters backed taking over the Danish territory, with that number only rising to 26 percent amongst MAGA Republicans.

Sending the military into Mexico was marginally more popular, with 39 percent of MAGA approving of intervening south of the border and 22 percent of non-MAGA supporters agreeing.

Around 30 percent of his voters also supported sending the military to Colombia, with 28 percent advocating for intervention in Cuba.

All three countries have drawn Trump’s ire in recent months, with the president calling for cartels in Mexico to be bombed and for reportedly plotting to overthrow the current regime in Cuba. He has also openly bragged about the possibility of usurping Gustavo Petro, the president of Colombia.

Attacking China was lower on the priority list for Trump voters with only 25 percent backing the move, although that does mean 1 in 4 of his voters support an attack that could spark a major global conflict.