Poll – Is the United States Still a Force for Good in the World?

The United States has been busy lately. Under the direction of President Donald Trump, we’ve exercised our military prowess by capturing and figuratively decapitating the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro. Now we’re decimating the Iranian military in the hopes of regime change. America has always fancied itself a force for good, and here we are, 250 years after the founding of these United States, selfishly sticking our noses into other people’s business. Correct? Well, actually, no, and a recent poll reveals how we view ourselves.

Like it or not, Venezuela and Iran are our business, and taking out dictators is still a noble enterprise. In return for all our efforts, the world is a safer place, but don’t expect other countries to heap praise on us. We’re doing the hard work that they are either not capable of or don’t have enough courage to tackle.

At a fireside chat with NBC News last week, House Speaker Mike Johnson put it just about right when he remarked that he does not support nation-building in Iran but that “America has a very important role to play in the world … as defenders of freedom and liberty.”

The United States has never been an imperialist power. This is to say, we don’t conquer other nations and then take control of them for our own benefit. The United States didn’t stretch out its hand and grab Japan, Italy, or Germany after World War II. Instead, our goal was to get these nations back on their own two feet – something all of them have more or less accomplished.

Our military objectives in Iran, according to the president, are to put Iranians in a position to “take back their country” from the ruling religious strongmen who have held it hostage for 47 years. No doubt, these lofty goals have yet to be realized. But these are still early days in the conflict.

Poll Finds Americans Divided Along Party Lines

Interactive Polls posted a Cygnal survey on X this week, finding that 56% of Americans still believe the United States is a force for good, while 39% say it is not. Among the key takeaways from the poll was that Democrats have a less rosy view of their country than Republicans: Only 25% of Democrats say our country is still a force for good, and only 7% say it definitely is. Republicans, on the other hand, have a higher level of belief in US intentions, with 91% saying the country is a force for good and 69% saying it is definitely the cowboy in the white hat.

Black and young women likely voters both had the most negative views, while white men over age 55 had the strongest support for America’s good intentions. The survey clearly illustrated that age mattered – that is, the older the survey participants, the more likely they were to be positive that the United States is a force for good. And finally, as one X poster put it, the poll showed “[s]ingle young urban women who went to college and voted for Kamala hate America.” Well, hate may be too strong a sentiment, but they certainly don’t see our country in a positive light.

After 250 years, the United States is still a unique experiment. To the people of Venezuela and Iran, we are the modern-day freedom fighters, the liberators, and among the few willing to risk life and limb for all men and women across the globe to live free. Any way you cut it, these are noble endeavors.