Americans not on board with Trump's military interventions, polls say

Two new polls show most Americans are not on board with President Donald Trump's recent intervention in Venezuela and disapprove of his threats of military action against other nations, including Greenland and Iran.

More than half of U.S. adults believe Trump has “gone too far” in using the U.S. military to intervene in other countries, according to a Jan. 14 poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

In a Quinnipiac University poll released the same day, 7 out of 10 U.S. voters think a president should receive congressional approval before taking military action against another country.

The attitudes toward U.S military intervention abroad build on a growing unease with the administration's foreign policy stance among Americans and some members of the president's own party.

The first few weeks of the year have been dominated by Trump's military interventions in Venezuela, and threats of further military actions against Greenland, Iran, Colombia and Mexico. In 2025, the administration pushed forward with several peace talks and hosted foreign leaders, while a series of polls and a Democratic blowout in the November elections signaled that the economy is a growing pressure point among voters.

Over the past week, the president has ramped up threats to take Greenland, claiming the United States needs the Arctic island to secure national security, and warned of potential military strikes against Iran as the regime violently cracks down on protesters.

Most Americans don't want him to do either, according to the new polling.

In Quinnipiac University's four-day survey, 70% of voters said the United States should not get involved in Iran. More than 8 in 10 respondents said they would oppose an attempt to take Greenland by force. More than half of respondents, 55%, said they would oppose the United States trying to buy Greenland from Denmark, while 37% said they would be OK with the purchase.

Both Greenland and Denmark have repeatedly said the territory is not for sale.

According to the Associated Press (AP-NORC) poll, nearly half of Americans want the United States to take a “less active” role abroad, and about one-third say its current role is “about right.” About 2 in 10 U.S. adults say they want the country to be more involved globally, the pollster said, including about 1 in 10 Republicans.

Americans were more divided when it came to Venezuela. U.S. special forces attacked the country and captured leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Jan. 3. They were transported to the United States and arraigned on drug trafficking charges.

In the AP-NORC poll, about 6 in 10 Americans, or 57%, disapproved of how Trump was handling the situation in Venezuela. The other poll recorded a disapproval rating of 45%, while about 47% approved of the operation.

Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at[email protected] and on X @KathrynPlmr. Sign up for her daily politics newsletterhere.