Confidence in the U.S. military measured below 50% for the second year in a row, according to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute National Defense Survey results released Thursday.
At 48%, confidence in the military is up 3% compared to last year. However, it is down significantly compared to four years ago, when it was 70%.
“The primary reason for this decline is the perceived politicization of the military,” said the institute in a press release.
According to the institute, the latest figures are based on a survey of 2,500 U.S. adults conducted between Nov. 9 and Nov. 17 by a bipartisan survey team at Beacon Research and Shaw & Company Research. Overall, 62% of those surveyed believe military leadership are becoming overly politicized.
“Nearly 60% of respondents say that performance and competence of presidents as commanders-in-chief is decreasing their confidence in the military and 55% say the performance and competence of the military’s civilian leadership is a concern,” the institute said.
Additionally, half of the respondents said the believe “woke” practices undermine military effectiveness and 46% said their decreased confidence is due to far-right individuals serving in the military. Younger people, (age 18 to 29) were not likely to say they would join the military.
Along with a decrease in positive perception regarding the military, more than half of Americans surveyed said that the U.S. doesn’t have a clear strategy regarding potential threats from China. A great majority (75%) of those surveyed said they view China as a threat, up 10% compared to 2021 and 43% believe China is the greatest threat to the U.S. Bipartisan majorities also concerned about a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
Even as confidence in the military has fallen, most Americans who participated in the recent survey (57%) said they believe the U.S. should continue providing aid to Ukraine, which is battling a now months-long Russian Federation invasion. Democrats (73%) were more likely to support standing with Ukraine than Republicans (51%).
“Perceptions of Russia as an enemy reached a survey high of 82%, up from 65% just last year,” said the institute. “Relatedly, 76% of Americans consider Ukraine an ally, a significant increase from 49% in 2021, and 67% are concerned about Russian victory in the war.”
Americans also said they had a favorable view of NATO (60%) and 72% said they support article 5, which would require the U.S. to respond to Russia with military force if it attacks a member nation.
A panel is expected to discuss the survey results Saturday at the Reagan National Defense Forum beginning at 7:15 a.m. PT. It will be moderated by CNN’s Abby Phillip.
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