WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans may be willing to stick with President Donald Trump through almost anything, but his recent push to seize control of Greenland has unsettled many in his own party, according to a new AP-NORC poll.
The survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that about 7 out of 10 American adults disapprove of how Trump is handling the issue of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark. That’s higher than the share who don’t like how he’s handling foreign policy in general, suggesting that Trump’s Greenland approach has created a weak spot for the administration.
Even the Republicans are not happy. About half disapprove of his attempt to turn the ice land mass into US territory, something Trump has stressed is critical to national security in the Arctic, while about half approve.
The survey was conducted between February 5 and 8, which is after Trump had made the decision to lift tariffs intended to pressure European countries to support US control of Greenland, but after his weeks-long push for American intervention on the island.
About half of Republicans disapprove of Trump on Greenland
Trump’s base is usually solidly behind him, so Greenland stands out as an exception.
The marks represent Trump’s lowest ratings among Republicans on a list of key issues in the poll, including the economy and immigration — where about 8 in 10 approve — and foreign policy overall. About 7 in 10 Republicans approve of his overall approach to foreign policy.
Trump claimed that the United States needs Greenland to fight threats from Russia and China in the Arctic region, even though America already has a military presence there.
Other recent polls, including a Pew Research Center poll conducted in January, found that Republicans were largely split on whether the United States should take over Greenland, while Americans were generally opposed.
Ayman Amir, a 46-year-old Trump supporter from Houston, Texas, said he agrees that Greenland is of strategic importance to the US military. But that doesn’t mean he thinks Trump should claim it.
“We can’t take it by force. We have no right to do that,” Amir said. “You can’t blame Russia for what they do in Ukraine and then do the same thing. You can’t do that.”
Overall approval of Trump’s foreign policy remains stable
The President dropped his threats to seize the territory by force late last month after he said a framework for an agreement on access to Greenland had been reached with the help of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
The conflict represents just one of the moves Trump has made to strain relations with key allies over the past year. Western leaders are focusing on transatlantic tensions this week at the Munich Security Conference.
On Greenland, Trump has few vocal supporters at home or abroad.
Even as Trump has made significant moves to gain control of Greenland, his overall approval rating on the foreign policy issue has remained steady. About 4 in 10 American adults approve of Trump’s approach to foreign policy, a measure that has not changed in recent months.
Young Republicans especially do not approve of the Greenland approach
Younger Republicans are unlikely to approve of Trump’s handling of the situation.
About 6 in 10 Republicans under 45 say they disapprove of his handling of Greenland, compared to about 4 in 10 older Republicans.
That 4 in 10 who approve of Trump’s actions in Greenland is far less than the approval of young Republicans on issues of foreign policy, the economy, or immigration.
Independent voter Aaron Gunnoe, 29, an engineer from Marion, Ohio, was confused by Trump’s aggressive stance on the NATO ally.
“It’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” he said. “It’s someone else’s property. That should be the end of it.”
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The AP-NORC survey of 1,156 adults was conducted Feb. 5-8 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the US population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. The margin of sampling error for Republicans overall is plus or minus 6.1 percentage points.