Americans’ early reactions to a U.S. military operation in Venezuela, and to the broader question of whether the United States should take control there, point to skepticism among the public and a continued desire for government to focus on domestic issues, according to polling analyzed by The Associated Press.
The AP reported that there were “few signs” that President Donald Trump’s supporters had wanted the U.S. to become more embroiled in foreign conflicts ahead of the military actions in Venezuela. At the same time, the AP analysis found that many Republicans showed initial support for a U.S. military strike there, even as Americans overall appeared reluctant to endorse a larger role in Venezuelan affairs.
In December, Maduro pleaded not guilty in New York to federal drug trafficking charges, the AP reported. The AP said his capture followed U.S. strikes on boats that the Trump administration said were carrying drugs from Venezuela to the United States. Despite that framing, the AP analysis found that drug trafficking was not among the top issues that Americans said the government should prioritize in 2026.
In an open-ended AP-NORC question conducted last month, about one-quarter of U.S. adults listed foreign policy topics—such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Israel, or general involvement overseas—as something they wanted the government to prioritize in 2026. The AP said that was down from roughly one-third in the prior two years, and that “almost no one” specifically named Venezuela as a priority. The AP said few Americans mentioned drug-related issues as a priority, with the issue primarily appearing among Republicans, including about 1 in 10 Republicans.
Across the same AP-NORC reporting, the AP said Americans overall were more focused on domestic concerns, including health care and cost-of-living worries. The AP also reported that relatively few Democrats or independents mentioned drug-related issues.
When the AP looked at polling done immediately after Maduro’s capture, it found Americans were split over the U.S. sending the military to capture him, with many still forming opinions. In a Washington Post and SSRS text-message poll over the weekend, about 4 in 10 approved of sending the U.S. military to capture Maduro, while roughly the same share were opposed, and about 2 in 10 were unsure, the AP said. The AP reported that Republicans broadly approved, while Democrats were largely opposed.
The AP said the Washington Post and SSRS poll also found near-universal deference to Venezuelan self-determination. The AP reported that 45% of Americans were opposed to the U.S. taking control of Venezuela and choosing a new government, while about 9 in 10 said the Venezuelan people should decide the future leadership of their country.
The AP noted that earlier public-opinion polling showed similar resistance prior to the operation. A December Quinnipiac poll found about 6 in 10 registered voters opposed U.S. military action in Venezuela. Republicans were more divided in that poll, with about half in support, about one-third opposed, and 15% without an opinion, the AP said.
On the question of whether the U.S. should play a larger role in other countries’ problems more generally, the AP also pointed to recent party differences. In an AP-NORC poll from September, only about 1 in 10 Republicans wanted the U.S. to take a more active role in solving the world’s problems, the AP said. In that poll, 55% of Republicans said the current U.S. role in global issues was “about right.”
The AP said those views aligned with a broader “America first” posture among Trump supporters. It reported that about 7 in 10 voters who backed Trump in 2024 wanted the U.S. to take a less active role in solving world problems, according to AP VoteCast. The AP also cited a Fox News poll from December finding that Americans were largely divided over whether Trump was keeping his “America First” promise, with about half saying he was and about half saying he had abandoned it.
The AP added that even in that pre-operation Fox News polling, Trump’s supporters remained more likely to credit him with keeping that promise than abandoning it: about 1 in 10 Americans who voted for Trump in 2024 felt he had deserted the “America First” promise, while the overwhelming majority felt he had kept it.
The AP analysis said there could still be room for public opinion to shift as Trump’s administration clarifies its next steps for Venezuela, but it suggested the question may be politically challenging for Trump given that Americans have prioritized fixing economic issues at home.