In the wake of the US invasion of Venezuela and the capture of its president, there arose conflicting responses from Americans, as the latest polls held by different agencies show that half of Americans have no desire to see Venezuela being run by the US government, which has taken office with promises of focusing on America First and disengaging itself from foreign affairs, and that they want the government to be engaged in domestic matters, though a faction seems to be supportive of Donald Trump’s foreign actions.
An Associated Press analysis of recent polling indicates that there were few signs Trump’s core supporters wanted the US to become more deeply embroiled in overseas conflicts before the military action in Venezuela, even though many Republicans have since expressed initial approval of the strike that led to President Nicolás Maduro’s capture.
Surveys suggest that the operation has not fundamentally altered broader public priorities, which remain firmly focused on domestic concerns rather than foreign interventions, according to The Wire report.
An AP-NORC poll conducted last month found that most Americans wanted the federal government in 2026 to concentrate on internal issues such as health care, economic uncertainty and high living costs, rather than on foreign policy challenges, a finding that reinforces a trend seen over recent years.
Only about a quarter of US adults listed foreign policy matters, including conflicts involving Russia and Ukraine or Israel and general overseas engagement, among the issues they wanted prioritised, marking a decline from the roughly one-third who had done so in each of the previous two years, while almost no respondents specifically mentioned Venezuela.
Polling carried out immediately after the military operation suggested that public opinion remained divided and unsettled, with many Americans unconvinced that the United States should assume responsibility for steering Venezuela’s future.
A Washington Post–SSRS poll found that around four in ten Americans approved of the military mission to capture Maduro, while a similar proportion opposed it, and a further fifth said they were unsure, highlighting the fluidity of opinion in the aftermath of the action.
Crucially, however, resistance grew stronger when questions turned to governance, as nearly half of Americans said they opposed the United States taking control of Venezuela and installing a new government, and an overwhelming majority agreed that Venezuelans themselves should decide their country’s leadership.
Earlier polling by Quinnipiac in December had already shown that about six in ten registered voters opposed US military action in Venezuela, with Republicans split and a sizeable minority undecided.
The data also underscore a broader scepticism among Republicans about deeper global engagement, as an AP-NORC poll from September showed that only about one in ten Republicans wanted the US to take a more active role in solving the world’s problems, while most felt the current level of involvement was sufficient.