A US poll released earlier this week found a general lack of engagement among the American public on Taiwan, although most believe former US president Donald Trump would handle a Chinese attack better than US Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Institute for Global Affairs on Monday released a report detailing opinions on foreign policy from 1,835 surveyed Americans.
Overall, 53 percent of respondents believed Trump would better handle a crisis in the Taiwan Strait, compared to 47 percent for Harris, the New York-based think tank found.
Photo: AFP
The margin was higher in swing states, with 58 percent saying they trust Trump more on the issue.
Asked whether the US should militarily defend Taiwan, a slim majority at 40 percent were in favor, although 39 percent had no opinion on the matter.
Democrats and Republicans generally agree that the US should defend Taiwan with 44 percent and 45 percent supporting the hypothetical respectively.
However, those who are intending to vote for Harris were 18 percent more likely to say the US should defend Taiwan than those planning to vote for Trump.
“Trump voters appear to be less hawkish than the average Republican, and in the case of Taiwan, less hawkish than Harris voters,” the report says.
Opposition to US military support was strongest among independent voters, 30 percent of whom thought the US should not intervene compared to 23 percent for Trump voters and 17 percent among Harris voters.
The report suggested that the large number of undecided responses indicate a lack of engagement on the issue and advised against candidates focusing on it “unless they can effectively connect Taiwan to a broader message about China and America’s role in the world.”
The poll was distributed by YouGov from Aug. 15 to 22. It had a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.
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