US support for Israel's actions in Gaza drops, as Democratic opposition grows and MAGA movement splits
A Gallup poll released this week found that just 32 percent of US adults support Israel's military actions in Gaza — a record low since the war was launched in response to Hamas' October 7, 2023, terror attack. The poll also found the strongest partisan split yet: Support among those who identify themselves as Republicans remained strong, at 71 percent. But just 8 percent of Democrats and 25 percent of independents say they back Israel's military actions.
In perhaps the most ominous long-term sign for backers of Israel, the poll found just 9 percent support for its actions among those age 18-34 of all political parties.
The shift in public opinion has crucial implications for both parties: Some key members of Trump's MAGA movement are vocally questioning whether the United States should keep supporting Israel, while plummeting backing for the country among Democrats will likely impact the party's primaries in key races in 2026 and 2028.
The collapse in American support for Israel is part of a global trend. The United Kingdom said this week it would recognize a Palestinian state before the United Nations General Assembly unless Israel takes major steps to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The announcement followed France's decision to do so.
United Nations agencies are warning that 'time is running out to mount a full-scale humanitarian response' in the besieged Gaza Strip. Data show that more than one in three people (39 percent) are now going days at a time without eating, the UN's World Food Programme said in a statement Wednesday, adding that over 500,000 people — almost a quarter of Gaza's population — 'are enduring famine-like conditions.'
Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat who co-chairs the bipartisan Congressional Israel Allies Caucus, told CNN that Israel is losing the battle for worldwide public opinion.
He said Israel's military faces serious challenges in Gaza, where Hamas is willing to incur massive civilian casualties 'to undermine Israel's position in the world,' but said its objectives 'have to be balanced against each other.'
'Israel has to determine, what are its military objectives, and what casualties is it willing to incur to realize that national security includes your image around the world,' Sherman said. 'You can't get everything you want, and your worldwide image is important.'
MAGA doubts
Within the GOP, fissures over Israel's actions came into public view after Trump on Monday disputed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's weekend assertion that there is 'no starvation in Gaza.'
'That's real starvation stuff,' Trump said. 'I see it, and you can't fake that. So, we're going to be even more involved.'
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a prominent figure in Trump's 'Make America Great Again' movement, appeared to become the first Republican in Congress to describe the crisis in Gaza as a 'genocide' with a Monday night social media post.
'It's the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct 7th in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza,' Greene said.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene arrives for a House Republican meeting at the US Capitol on May 20 in Washington, DC.Her comment came in a longer post criticizing Florida GOP Rep. Randy Fine, a staunch supporter of Israel.
Fine told CNN that 'those who claim that Israel is engaged in genocide are either antisemites or idiots or both.'
'If Israel had wanted to commit a genocide in Gaza, they had the ability to do it. And it would have been done 18 months ago, and it would have been over in two days,' he said. 'Israel has the capability to kill everyone in Gaza, but they haven't. … Hundreds and hundreds of Israeli soldiers have died in order to minimize the deaths of Gaza Arabs.'
He argued that Israel should stop putting its own soldiers at risk 'to minimize the deaths of the enemy.'
Fine added: 'Israel needs to stop worrying about what the rest of the world thinks and take care of business. Political opinion does not win wars.'
While many Republicans still agree with Fine, Steve Bannon, the former Trump chief strategist, said Tuesday on his podcast that there is 'very little support for Israel' within Trump's MAGA movement among those under age 30.
'And now, even people who support Israel are sitting there going, what in the hell's going on here?' Bannon said.
'Total mindset change' for Democrats
Inside the Democratic Party, the issue of support for Israel proved to be a difficult one in 2024 for President Joe Biden and then his replacement atop the ballot, Vice President Kamala Harris, particularly in the battleground state of Michigan.
That state, with its large Arab-American population, will host a competitive Senate contest in 2026. And Democrats who hope to run for president in 2028 will surely be pushed on their Israel policies in primaries across the country.
Progressive Pennsylvania Rep. Summer Lee, who was one of six members of Congress to support a recent Greene amendment to strip $500 million in funding for Israel's missile defense systems from a defense appropriations bill, said in a statement that, 'The United States has a responsibility to demand a permanent ceasefire, stop funding and supplying the bombs being dropped, and call for unconditional humanitarian aid to enter Gaza immediately. It is good policy, good politics, and the right thing to do.'
More establishment figures in liberal media have also sharpened their criticism of Israel in recent days — offering a preview of what could become a significant long-term shift in the party.
The former aides to President Barack Obama who host the 'Pod Save America' podcast argued this week that Democratic candidates should stop supporting military aid for Israel.
'There has to be a total mindset change in the Democratic Party,' co-host Tommy Vietor, a former Obama National Security Council staffer, said. 'When the war ends, we are not going back to the pre-October 7 status quo. It's not where the party is. It's not where the world is.'
Eric Fingerhut, the president and chief executive officer of the Jewish Federations of North America and a former Ohio Democratic congressman, said the Gallup findings numbers reflect 'overwhelmingly negative media coverage of the war.'
'There's no question that we are in a very partisan moment in America, and that that is an overlay on how people react to the situation in Israel and in the war in Gaza,' Fingerhut said.
CNN's Nadeen Ebrahim and Ibrahim Dahman contributed to this report.
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