Regular readers know that I have been debunking the myth of MAGA isolationism for a while, citing a series of polls from the Ronald Reagan Institute and others that have consistently shown MAGA Republicans are more hawkish and less isolationist than any other segment of the American electorate.
The isolationist right has dismissed those results as “Zombie Reaganism” — a dying “baby boomer supernova” driven by older Republicans with gauzy memories of a bygone era of 1980s GOP world leadership. Younger MAGA voters are far less supportive of bold U.S. leadership on the global stage, critics insist, and the future of MAGA is isolationist.
To see if that’s correct, the Reagan Institute decided to drill down on the foreign policy views of MAGA voters under 30. Well, the results are in — and the news is not good for the isolationist right. Young MAGA voters don’t want America to pull back from the world; they want to lead it.
A 72 percent supermajority of young MAGA voters believe the United States should be “more engaged and take the lead” on foreign policy, while just 19 percent say it should be “less engaged and react to events” — a 53-point spread in favor of U.S. global leadership. The institute surveyed more than 1,500 respondents nationwide in late May and early June, including a statistically significant sample of MAGA Republicans under 30.
Young MAGA voters not only want the U.S. to lead, they want that leadership to be driven by American values: 74 percent agree that “the U.S. has a moral obligation to stand up for human rights and democracy whenever possible in international affairs.” Almost 80 percent agree that “promoting freedom and democracy in authoritarian countries” should be a focus of U.S. foreign policy and that “defending people facing religious persecution in other countries” should be a U.S. priority. And 64 percent said they support “funding programs and organizations designed to advance freedom and democracy abroad,” while just 31 percent said the programs were “not worth the expense.”
This commitment to America’s moral mission in the world is evident in their views on Iran: 59 percent of Gen Z MAGA voters say “supporting the Iranian people in their efforts to secure freedom and democracy” is important (as did 67 percent of MAGA voters over 30), while just 13 percent say it’s not. Asked if they approve or disapprove of the military actions President Donald Trump has taken against Iran this year, 73 percent of MAGA voters under 30 approve, as did 89 percent of older ones.
Perhaps most important, 61 percent of under-30 MAGA voters want to see the Iranian regime either removed or weakened, while just 35 percent say they prefer a “negotiated settlement” in which “Iran’s current government remains in exchange for verifiable limits on its nuclear and missile programs.”
Young MAGA voters support the “Donroe Doctrine” in the Western Hemisphere: 64 percent agree with Trump’s decision to remove Nicolás Maduro from power in Venezuela, and 60 percent would support using military force to remove the current Cuban government from power.
Many polls have shown that support for Israel has collapsed among Gen Z Democrats. Though younger MAGA voters are less supportive than older ones, solid majorities still back the Jewish state: 60 percent of MAGA voters under 30 approve of sending U.S. weapons to Israel, compared with 72 percent of older MAGA voters — far above the paltry 37 percent of Democrats who do. And 63 percent say that the security of Israel “matters to U.S. security and prosperity.” While young MAGA voters are not immune to the decline in support for Israel, they are among the least affected by this trend.
Younger MAGA voters overwhelmingly believe in peace through strength: An 85 percent supermajority agree that “a strong U.S. military is essential to maintaining peace and prosperity, both at home and abroad,” compared with 93 percent of older MAGA Republicans. And they are significantly more supportive of the NATO alliance than older MAGA voters are: 62 percent of MAGA voters under 30 have a favorable view of NATO, compared with just 47 percent of those over 30. And 65 percent of both older and younger MAGA voters said they would be more likely to support continued U.S. participation in NATO after learning that “NATO members have recently increased their own defense spending in response to U.S. insistence.”
Young MAGA voters also stand with the people of Ukraine: 64 percent say the outcome of the war between Russia and Ukraine matters to U.S. security and prosperity — almost indistinguishable from the 69 percent of older MAGA voters who hold this view. Only 35 percent support “conceding territory to Russia” as part of a peace deal, while 57 percent say the U.S. should either support Ukraine “until all Russian-occupied territory is liberated” or a “ceasefire along current front lines” is reached “without formally recognizing Russian control of annexed territories.”
On China, they are less hawkish than older MAGA voters: 65 percent say that the security of Taiwan matters to U.S. security and prosperity, compared with 78 percent of older MAGA voters, and 79 percent say that countering Chinese military power should be a focus of U.S. foreign policy (90 percent of older MAGA feel this way). But they also want U.S. policy toward China to be driven by principle: 53 percent say that “publicly pressuring China to release political prisoners, even if it increases tensions with China” should be a higher priority for the U.S. than “avoiding public criticism of China in order to preserve cooperation on other issues.” The gap between older and younger MAGA voters on China is concerning, but solid majorities still want to take a hard line with Beijing.
Finally, when asked whether America remains the “shining city upon a hill because its freedom, prosperity, and democratic ideals serve as an example to the world,” 76 percent of under-30 MAGA believe it does. Somewhere up there, those results brought a smile to the Gipper’s face.
Bottom line: The isolationists are out of step with Trump and the “America First” movement writ large — and there is no help on the way from the Gen Z right.
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