According to a new study by the Pew Research Center, more and more Americans find President Obama’s approach to foreign policy and national security interests to be sub-par.
The study revealed that since 2012, the share of Americans who say Obama’s foreign policy is “not tough enough” has risen sharply. During the 2012 presidential campaign, 41% of Americans said he was not tough enough, but just a year later, in November 2013, that figure had risen by 10 points to 51%.
Since 2013, the number who find Obama’s foreign policy weak has never dropped below 50%, and the current survey shows that 55% now say Obama is not tough enough.
Among Republicans, the numbers are higher still. Almost nine-in-ten Republicans (89%) believe that Obama is too weak in dealing with national security and foreign policy, and among those who describe themselves as “conservative,” the figure is 92%. This percentage also represents a notable uptick from earlier polls.
While a slim majority of Democrats say Obama’s approach is about right, 39% of conservatives and moderates in the party also said his foreign policy was too soft.
A substantial age gap exists regarding people’s views of Obama’s approach to foreign policy, with older Americans much more likely to say Obama’s foreign policy stance is not tough enough.
The study also found that about half of Americans consider Obama a liberal, while 37% say he is ‘middle of the road’ ideologically and just 12% describe him as conservative.
While only 38% of Democrats describe Obama as liberal, double that number of Republicans (74%) say he is liberal.
Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter @tdwilliamsrome.
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