Opinion: How to talk to voters about foreign policy
President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin answer questions during a joint news conference after their summit on July 16, 2018, in Helsinki.
First and foremost, CAP’s study shows “high levels of uncertainty among voters about U.S. foreign policy goals.” Less-educated voters seem especially uncertain about our goals. Traditional language from foreign policy experts about “fighting authoritarianism and dictatorship,” “promoting democracy,” or “working with allies and the international community” uniformly fell flat with voters in our groups. Some participants questioned the idea that an international community actually exists.
Second, voters aren’t anti-engagement, but they are wary and skeptical of engagement. Fifty-one percent believe"‘America is stronger when we take a leading role in the world to protect our national interests and advance common goals with other allies,’ versus 44 percent who believe the opposite, that ‘America is stronger when we focus on our own problems instead of inserting ourselves in other countries’ problems,’ with another 5 percent of voters not sure either way.
Fourth, there are two foreign policy objectives that garner supermajority support: “protecting the U.S. homeland and its people from external threats—particularly terrorist attacks—and protecting jobs for American workers.” It’s true that voters also want to protect our democracy, work with allies and promote human rights, but these are secondary concerns.
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