A new Gallup poll shows that a large majority of Americans believe the United Nations (UN) is important, but are critical of its effectiveness and ability to really influence world events, writes Politico.
The results of the poll, released on the 22nd of September, ahead of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, show that while 60% of Americans believe the organization is necessary, 63% of those surveyed also believe that it is not doing enough to solve international problems. However, overall support has also decreased significantly – in 1997, 85% of Americans responded that the UN plays an important role in world events.
More than half of those surveyed believe that financial support for the UN should continue to be necessary. 35% want to maintain current funding levels, while 25% believe that the organization should be allocated more funds.
37% of respondents would like to reduce the funding that the UN provides from the US budget.
The majority – 79% – of those surveyed said that the US should continue its membership in the UN. Although only 17% of respondents believe that the country should withdraw from the organization, this is still the highest figure in the survey conducted in several decades. From the point of view of political affiliation, Republicans have historically been more skeptical about the UN. This year’s survey is no exception, and 59% of Republican supporters believe that the UN is not great. Among Democratic supporters, skeptics are much less, only 19%.
In his second term in office, US President Donald Trump has called on the US, which accounts for 22% of the UN’s core budget, to reduce its presence in international organizations, and has significantly reduced financial support to other countries. Trump withdrew the US from the UN Human Rights Council in February, and in July withdrew from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which he called too “woke”.
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