Americans’ views of Israel, Ukraine, Mexico more divided than ever: Gallup

A new poll suggests dramatically deepening partisan rifts over Israel, Ukraine and Mexico as President Trump focuses on all three countries just more than a month into his second term.

Gallup’s annual World Affairs survey found Republicans overwhelmingly view Israel more favorably than Democrats, 83 percent to 33 percent, while Democrats polled hold more favorable views toward Mexico, 83 percent to 47 percent, and Ukraine, 83 percent to 34 percent.

Independents hold opinions of Israel and Mexico closer to those of Democrats, while their views on Ukraine more closely align with Republicans, the Gallup poll found.

All three double-digit splits between the two major political parties are near records and represent the deepest divides in views toward other countries, according to Gallup.

Trump kicked off his second term in the Oval Office with efforts to broker peace in Gaza and Ukraine and tackle immigration issues at the U.S. southern border with Mexico.

The 50-point split among Republicans and Democrats over Israel shatters the record 30-point divide found in last year’s survey, as the positive rating among Democrats plummeted 14 points in the past year.

About 54 percent of Americans overall rate Israel positively, factoring in independents at 48 percent. It’s the lowest opinion Americans have collectively held toward Israel since the survey found 48 percent favorability in February 1992. The all-time low was a 45 percent favorable rating in 1989, according to Gallup.

Republicans have consistently viewed Israel more favorably than Democrats, but the gap averaged just 18 points from 2001-23.

Israel has been at war in Gaza, with temporary ceasefires, since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack of the country. Trump recently proposed developing Gaza and resettling Palestinians.

The 30-plus point divides over both Ukraine and Mexico also show the deep partisan split on the international front.

Republicans and Democrats’ views of Ukraine were largely on track until 2023. This week marks the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that sparked the ongoing war; since then, Democrats have trended more favorably toward Ukraine.

The survey was conducted before Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly lobbed verbal attacks against each other and Trump administration officials engaged in peace negotiations with Russia without a representative from Ukraine present.

Some Senate Republicans have since spoken out in support of Ukraine.

Trump similarly has hammered Mexico over the handling of illegal border crossings and drugs coming into the U.S., after campaigning heavily on both issues. He has threatened, but delayed, hefty tariffs on the neighbor to the south.

The poll found Americans hold the most favorable views of Canada, Japan, Great Britain and Denmark among 22 countries included in the survey — each with support from more than 80 percent of respondents.

Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan are the least well-liked countries, with each polling at 15 percent favorability or below.

Gallup’s World Affairs survey was conducted by phone Feb. 3-16 and includes responses from a random sample of 1,004 adults across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.