American & Foreign Policy: Voters Are Not Doves

From American pushback on China to American support of Ukraine, election season has once again prompted candidates to articulate their views on American foreign policy. This is the right instinct — American foreign policy should be of, by, and for the American people. Yet this year, some are failing. Take Republican Ohio Senate candidate J. D. Vance, who stated, “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other,” or Republican Washington House nominee Joe Kent, who called Vladimir Putin’s concerns “very reasonable.” If candidates spoke less and listened more, they would learn that Americans, and Republicans in particular, in fact overwhelmingly support a strong, forward, and principled American foreign policy.

This is especially true when it comes to China. According to a Pew survey from April, a record 82 percent of Americans (89 percent of Republicans, 79 percent of Democrats) now have an unfavorable opinion of China, with 42 percent of Rs considering China to be an enemy of the U.S. Two-thirds of Republicans and 43 percent of Democrats believe it is more important to get tougher on China than to build a stronger relationship on economic issues. A huge majority of Americans see the China–Russia partnership (92 percent), China’s involvement in our domestic politics (84 percent), and China’s military power (85 percent) as serious problems. Perhaps more surprisingly, Americans are also extremely concerned by how the Chinese government treats its own citizens: Last year, Pew found that 82 percent say China’s human-rights policies are a serious problem for the U.S., and 70 percent of Americans believe we should try to promote human rights in China even if it harms economic relations. The American public intuitively recognizes that the most powerful economic and military nation in the world will determine global preferences — and they’d prefer it to be their own.

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About the Author

Gabriel Scheinmann

Gabriel Scheinmann is the executive director of the Alexander Hamilton Society.

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About the Author

Carrie Filipetti

Carrie Filipetti is the executive director of the Vandenberg Coalition.

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From American pushback on China to American support of Ukraine, election season has once again prompted candidates to articulate their views on American foreign policy. This is the right instinct — American foreign policy should be of, by, and for the American people. Yet this year, some are failing. Take Republican Ohio Senate candidate J. D. Vance, who stated, “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other,” or Republican Washington House nominee Joe Kent, who called Vladimir Putin’s concerns “very reasonable.” If candidates spoke less and listened more, they would learn that Americans, and Republicans in particular, in fact overwhelmingly support a strong, forward, and principled American foreign policy.

This is especially true when it comes to China. According to a Pew survey from April, a record 82 percent of Americans (89 percent of Republicans, 79 percent of Democrats) now have an unfavorable opinion of China, with 42 percent of Rs considering China to be an enemy of the U.S. Two-thirds of Republicans and 43 percent of Democrats believe it is more important to get tougher on China than to build a stronger relationship on economic issues. A huge majority of Americans see the China–Russia partnership (92 percent), China’s involvement in our domestic politics (84 percent), and China’s military power (85 percent) as serious problems. Perhaps more surprisingly, Americans are also extremely concerned by how the Chinese government treats its own citizens: Last year, Pew found that 82 percent say China’s human-rights policies are a serious problem for the U.S., and 70 percent of Americans believe we should try to promote human rights in China even if it harms economic relations. The American public intuitively recognizes that the most powerful economic and military nation in the world will determine global preferences — and they’d prefer it to be their own.