Since we spend 4+% of GDP on defense, I’m wondering how much more they’re willing to spend.
In contrast to President Donald Trump’s call for a massive increase in U.S. military spending, most Americans believe the country currently spends either the right amount (28%) or too much (31%) on national defense. Thirty-seven percent believe it spends too little.
Still, slightly more Americans say the U.S. spends too little on defense than say it spends too much. This has happened somewhat infrequently in Gallup’s trend since 1969. All of the instances in which “spends too little” has exceeded “spends too much” have come just before, or just after, a Republican presidential administration has replaced a Democratic one. Before the 2016 presidential campaign, the last time that Americans were more likely to say “too little” than to say “too much” was 2000-2002, spanning the 2000 election as well as the aftermath of 9/11.
The percentage saying “too little” also exceeded the percentage saying “too much” when Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, after campaigning on a pledge to rebuild the military. At that time, half of Americans thought there was too little defense spending, the highest in Gallup’s trend since 1969. Only 15% thought there was too much — the all-time low.
Source: Gallup