Americans' Views on the Nation's Global Image and Power

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Gallup’s latest World Affairs survey, conducted Feb. 2-16, offers a snapshot of how Americans viewed the United States’ global standing just before the U.S. and Israel initiated military action against Iran — a development that could reshape these perceptions in the year ahead.

Here are 10 key insights from the poll.

1. Majority Favor a Significant Role for U.S. in Global Affairs, but Not the Leading Role

As they have historically, a clear majority of Americans favor an active role for the U.S. in global affairs — though relatively few, 21%, believe the country should take the leading role. Forty-three percent favor it playing a major role and 26% a minor one.

About seven in 10 Republicans (73%) and two-thirds of Democrats (67%) say the United States should play at least a major role internationally. However, Republicans are twice as likely as Democrats to prefer that the U.S. take the leading role (30% vs. 14%).

Independents are somewhat less inclined toward an expansive role: 58% favor a leading or major role, while 38% prefer a minor role or no role at all.

2. Americans Remain Dissatisfied With U.S. Global Position

Thirty-eight percent of Americans were satisfied and 61% dissatisfied with the United States’ position in the world before the military action in Iran.

Americans’ satisfaction on this measure has varied widely over the past quarter century. Satisfaction was high in 2000 (65%) and early 2001 (67%) before it increased to 71% in 2002, Gallup’s first reading after the 9/11 attacks. It then declined during the Iraq War, falling to a low of 30% in 2008, the final year of George W. Bush’s presidency.

Under President Barack Obama, between 2009 and 2016, satisfaction with the nation’s global position remained subdued, ranging from 32% to 40%. It increased during President Donald Trump’s first term between 2017 and 2020, reaching 53% in February 2020, shortly before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

By February 2021, satisfaction was back down to 37%, and it remained low for the duration of Joe Biden’s presidency, finishing at 33% in 2024. It ticked up to 39% at the start of Trump’s second term last year.

3. Party Gap in Satisfaction With Country’s Position Is Record High

Republicans’ and Democrats’ views of the United States’ global position have long tracked with which party holds the presidency. This year’s gap, however, is the largest Gallup has measured in its trend since 2000.

Eight in 10 Republicans were satisfied with the country’s global position in February, compared with just 7% of Democrats — a 73-percentage-point gap. This is up from a 51-point gap a year ago and exceeds the prior high of 66 points recorded in 2020.

By comparison, the largest partisan gaps on this question under other presidents were 52 points under Biden, 44 points under Obama and 57 points under George W. Bush. In 2000, the final year of Bill Clinton’s presidency, the Republican-Democratic gap was 21 points.

4. One-Third Say U.S. Defense Isn’t Strong Enough

Americans have become less likely over the past year to say the nation’s defense is not strong enough. Currently, 31% hold that view, down from 43% a year ago. At the same time, half believe U.S. defense capabilities are about right, and 17% say they are stronger than necessary.

Americans have varied historically in their views of the nation’s defense preparedness, tending to show higher concern that it is not strong enough during Democratic presidencies and less concern during Republican presidencies. However, that pattern was less consistent during George W. Bush’s presidency, which spanned the 9/11 attacks and Iraq War.

Few in any party group last month — 10% of Republicans, 18% of independents and 20% of Democrats — believed the nation’s defense is stronger than it needs to be. Instead, about half of Republicans (53%), independents (47%) and Democrats (52%) said it’s about right.

5. Four in 10 Doubt U.S. Is World’s Leading Military Power

Nearly six in 10 Americans (59%) say the United States is No. 1 in the world militarily — among the higher levels recorded in the past decade — while 39% believe it is only one of several leading military powers.

Although most Republicans (81%) and the majority of independents (56%) see the U.S. as the world’s leading military power, less than half of Democrats (45%) agree. However, these perceptions are starkly different from what Gallup found when the question was asked during Biden’s presidency. At that time, in 2022, less than half of Republicans (43%) thought the U.S. had the leading military, while the slight majority of Democrats said it did (55%). Independents' views were roughly the same as now.

6. One-Third Say Being No. 1 Militarily Is Not Important

Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) say it is important for the United States to be No. 1 militarily, while 34% say that distinction is not too important, as long as the country remains among the leading powers. This general sentiment has been relatively stable in recent years, with solid majorities continuing to value military dominance.

Again, views differ markedly by party. Republicans are nearly unanimous (92%) in believing the U.S. must lead militarily, compared with 64% of independents and 43% of Democrats.

7. Most Oppose the U.S. Acting Without Allies’ Support

About two-thirds of Americans say the United States should not take action in international crises without the backing of its allies, while 27% believe the country should be willing to act alone.

When Gallup last asked this question in 1998, 72% opposed unilateral action and 21% favored it, broadly similar to today.

Nearly half of Republicans (48%) versus 27% of independents and 8% of Democrats say the U.S. should act alone if necessary. Meanwhile, 88% of Democrats, 63% of independents and 43% of Republicans think the U.S. should act only in concert with allies.

The latest partisan differences contrast with 1998, when 77% of Republicans, 71% of Democrats and 70% of independents agreed that the U.S. should not act alone.

8. Negative Perceptions of How U.S. Is Viewed Abroad Match Iraq War Era

Americans’ assessments of how the United States is viewed internationally are among the most negative Gallup has recorded in the past two and a half decades.

Currently, 40% believe the U.S. is viewed very or somewhat favorably around the world, while 59% think it is viewed unfavorably. The 59% perceiving that the U.S. is viewed unfavorably is essentially tied for the highest in Gallup’s trend, along with a 58% reading in 2007 during the middle of the Iraq War.

After peaking at 79% favorably in early 2002 following the 9/11 attacks, Americans’ positive perception of the country’s global standing declined sharply during the Iraq War. By 2005, it had dropped below 50%, and by 2007, it had fallen to the trend-low 40%, identical to the current reading.

Although perceptions improved at various points over the next decade, including during Trump’s first term, they have again trended downward in recent years.

9. Few Perceive That U.S. Leads the World Economically

Only one in four Americans (25%) believe the United States is No. 1 in the world economically, while 72% say it is only one of several leading economic powers. More Americans saw the U.S. as the leading economy in 1999 and 2000, during a period of strong economic growth in the country. Since then, the percentage seeing the U.S. as No. 1 has varied between 16% and 26%.

Republicans, at 49%, are much more likely than independents (24%) and Democrats (9%) to see the U.S. as the world’s top economic power.

10. Americans Divided Over Whether Economic Dominance Is Important

Americans are evenly split on whether it is important for the United States to be No. 1 economically, with 49% saying it is important and an equal proportion saying it is not that important, as long as the country remains among the leading economic powers.

Nearly three-quarters of Republicans (73%) say it is important for the U.S. to lead economically, compared with 48% of independents and 31% of Democrats

Bottom Line

Less than a month before the military conflict with Iran started, Americans believed that the country’s national defenses are strong, while they were dissatisfied with its global position and perceived that it is viewed unfavorably on the global stage.

Most favored an active U.S. role in world affairs and believed the country remains militarily dominant but preferred to see the U.S. act in concert with its allies to address global crises rather than going it alone. Economically, they seemed largely content with the U.S. being globally competitive, if not the global economic leader.

While these findings describe the country on average, partisans' views are worlds apart, with Republicans perceiving a much more militarily and economically vigorous country than do independents and Democrats. Depending on how the Iran war unfolds, as well as other situations the U.S. is involved in around the globe, the coming months could either bolster perceptions of U.S. strength and leadership or deepen existing skepticism.

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Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works. View complete question responses and trends (PDF download).