President Donald Trump has stronger support from veterans than from the public on his leadership of the military, a new poll showed Wednesday,
According to a Pew Research Center survey, 57% approve of the way Trump is handling his duties as commander in chief, while 48% say his administration's policies have made the military stronger.
Just 41% of the general public approve of his work as commander in chief, the survey found.
However, 45% of vets say Trump does not listen enough to military leaders in making national security decisions, and a similar share say they have little trust in him to make the right decisions about the use of military force.
Veterans who identify as Republican or Republican-leaning have a much more positive view of Trump's leadership of the military than their Democratic counterparts, and are more likely to favor Trump-supported policies, the survey found.
The Pew researchers also found 64% of vets say the war in Iraq was not worth fighting considering the costs versus the benefits to the United States; 33% say it was.
Similarly, 58% of vets say the Iraq war was not worth it, compared with 32% who say it was.
The general public's views are nearly identical: 62% of Americans overall say the Iraq war was not worth it, while 32% say it was; 59% of the public says the war in Afghanistan was not worth fighting, less than 40% say it was.
Views on U.S. military engagement in Syria are also more negative than positive. Among veterans, 42% say the campaign in Syria has been worth it, while 55% say it has not. The public views mirror those as well: 36% say U.S. efforts in Syria have been worthwhile, 58% say they have not.
The survey's margin of error for the the veteran respondents is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points; for the general population sample, the margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.