THE HONEST POLL IS LIVE - Real polling for Americans who are tired of being lied to.
A new national survey by The Honest Poll finds that 60% of Likely Voters say U.S. foreign policy has mostly served political and business elites over the past few decades, while just 27% say it has mostly served the American public. Thirteen percent (13%) say it has served both about equally.
Seventy-one percent (71%) of Democrats and 64% of independents say foreign policy has mostly served elites, compared with 47% of Republicans. Forty-seven percent (47%) of 2024 Trump voters say the same, against 72% of 2024 Harris voters. Government employees are less likely to agree than private-sector workers: 56% of voters who work for the government say foreign policy has mostly served elites, compared with 69% of those who work for a private company, while 36% of government workers say it has mostly served the public, compared with 20% of private-sector workers.
Sixty-one percent (61%) of voters earning less than $65,000 a year say foreign policy has mostly served elites, compared with 52% of those earning $100,000 or more. Sixty-one percent (61%) of men and 59% of women say the same. By generation, 55% of Gen Z, 63% of Millennials, 62% of Gen X and 60% of Baby Boomers say foreign policy has mostly served elites. Fifty-four percent (54%) of Hispanic voters, 52% of Asian voters, 61% of white voters and 58% of Black voters say the same; 37% of Hispanic voters, 33% of Asian voters, 26% of white voters and 29% of Black voters say it has mostly served the public.
A related question finds that 55% of Likely Voters say the Trump administration is not paying enough attention to domestic issues, 22% say its focus is about right, and 16% say it is focused on domestic issues too much. Sixty-seven percent (67%) of Democrats and 61% of independents say the administration isn't focused enough on domestic issues, compared with 41% of Republicans. By 2024 vote, 69% of Harris voters and 39% of Trump voters say the same. Voters who work for the government are more than twice as likely as Likely Voters overall to say the administration is too focused on domestic issues, 36% to 16%.
A separate question finds that 40% of Likely Voters say U.S. military action involving Iran since late February has mainly served America's own interests, 43% say it has mainly served the interests of other countries, and 18% are not sure. Fifty-five percent (55%) of Republicans and 55% of 2024 Trump voters say the action served America's own interests, compared with 28% of Democrats and 27% of Harris voters. Forty-three percent (43%) of independents say it served other countries' interests, compared with 25% who say America's own interests. Sixty-seven percent (67%) of voters who strongly approve of Trump's job performance say the action served American interests, compared with 57% of voters who strongly disapprove. Forty-nine percent (49%) of government workers say the action served America's own interests, compared with 38% of those who work for a private company. Forty-seven percent (47%) of private-sector workers say it served other countries' interests, compared with 39% of government workers.
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The survey of 951 Registered Voters, including 812 Likely Voters, was conducted August 29-September 1, 2026, by The Honest Poll, combining an online panel with live Interactive Voice Response calls, weighted to match known demographic and political benchmarks. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is +/- 3.4 percentage points at a 95% level of confidence; the margin of error is higher for subgroups, including the 7% of respondents who identify as independent and the 10% who work for the government.
