Just over half of American (51%) say the U.S. military is number one in the world, according to the latest Gallup Poll released on Wednesday.
This is seven percentage points less than in the same survey last year, which is likely at least partially due to the military's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan last summer. In 2010, a high of the last three decades (64%) said the U.S. military was the best in the world, while the low of 49% during this time frame was recorded in 2016.
In contrast, most Americans have consistently said over the last decade or so that the U.S. is one of multiple economic powerhouses in the world, rather than being number one. The 16% who said the U.S. is number one in the world economically in the current poll is statistically similar to the previous lows of 17% recorded in 2010 and 2015.
However, if one goes back the full three decades for the military question, as many as 49% said the U.S. was the world's economic leader in 1999.
Other results from the poll include:
- More than two-thirds of Americans (68%) say it is important for the U.S. to be number one militarily, a trend that has remained consistent over the past three decades. Last year, 63% said it was important.
- However, the American public is more split on whether being an economic superpower is a priority, with 50% saying it is important and 49% saying it is not. The current 50% who say it is important matches the previous high recorded in 2015, with the low being 39% in 2007.
- Republicans are more likely to prioritize U.S. dominance, both militarily and economically, with 88% saying that being the leading military power is important, while much smaller majorities of independents (64%) and Democrats (55%) agree.
- While two-thirds of Republicans (67%) prioritize economic superiority, less than half of independents (47%) and Democrats (38%) view this as a national priority.
- The gap between Republicans and Democrats has widened to 29 points on this measure, while in 2000 only seven points separated the two groups.
The poll was conducted between February 1-17 of a random sample of 1,008 adults, before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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