Americans split on whether Trump support of Israel has gone too far: Poll

Americans are split on whether President Trump’s support for Israel has gone too far or is just about right, according to a survey released Tuesday. 

The Economist/YouGov poll found 36 percent of U.S. adults think the president’s backing of Israel has gone too far, while another 32 percent said his support for Israel is about right. Only 7 percent of respondents said Trump is not supportive enough of the country. 

The large majority of Americans, 71 percent, including 87 percent of Democratic Party voters and 54 percent of Republicans, think there is a hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip, according to the survey. 

Forty-three percent of respondents think Israel is committing “genocide” in the war-torn enclave against Palestinians. Around 65 percent of Democrats and 19 percent of GOP voters agreed. In the same survey from January 2024, 35 percent of U.S. adults said Israel was committing “genocide.” 

Also in the survey, 41 percent said Israel’s military attacks on “Gaza are unjustified and harm too many innocent Palestinians,” compared to 32 percent of those who argued “Israel is justified in its attacks on Gaza as a response to threats” from the Palestinian militant group Hamas. 

Forty-two percent in the poll were supportive of decreasing military aid to Israel, compared to the 13 percent who support increasing it. Similarly, 38 percent are in favor of increasing humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, while 18 percent prefer to decrease it. 

More than three-fourths of U.S. adults, 78 percent, are “strongly or somewhat” supportive of reaching a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government. Meanwhile, 49 percent, including 70 percent of Democrats and 23 percent of Republicans, argued Palestinians should have their own state, while 17 percent do not agree. 

The survey was conducted Aug. 1-4 among 1,702 Americans. The poll had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.