U.S. military dominance in the world is just one of a handful of foreign policy issues that divide Republicans and Democrats along party lines, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center.
A total of 70 percent of Republicans said it should be a top priority for the U.S. to maintain its military advantage over all other countries. When Pew asked Democrats, the number was just 34 percent. The survey earlier this month included over 10,000 adult respondents.
The public’s partisan divisions on the military could come into play as the Republican majority in the Senate and new Democratic House majority prepare to spar over a third year of major defense spending hikes.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., is expected to become the new House Armed Services chairman in January after the Democrats’ midterm victories. He has warned that the Pentagon budget and vast overseas operations might not be sustainable.
Meanwhile, Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., the Senate Armed Services chairman, is already pushing for another boost in the defense budget — potentially tens of billions of dollars more — for the coming year.
But there is also a chasm between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to who should be handling and paying for global security.
“Republicans are 30 percentage points more likely to say that getting other countries to assume more of the costs of maintaining world order should be a top priority for U.S. foreign policy,” the Pew survey found.
Those attitudes appear to track with President Trump’s push for NATO countries and other allies to pony up more spending on defense after years of lagging behind benchmarks.
“Europe has to pay their fair share for Military Protection. The European Union, for many years, has taken advantage of us on Trade, and then they don’t live up to their Military commitment through NATO. Things must change fast!” Trump tweeted on Monday.
The Pew survey also found that more deep partisan divides over countering Russia, which Democrats feel should be a top concern, and Iran, which Republicans pick as the bigger threat.
Polarizing foreign policy issues such as reducing immigration, aiding refugees and addressing climate change were other sources of division.
