Poll shows over three-fourths of Germans see Trump policies as threat to NATO

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN (AA) – Over three-fourths of Germans believe US President Donald Trump's policies threaten NATO's future, according to a new poll released Friday.

The survey by public broadcaster ZDF found that 78% of respondents think Trump's unilateral approach endangers the storied military alliance's continued existence. Only 18% disagreed with that assessment.

The poll, done by the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen research institute on Jan. 13-15, surveyed 1,245 eligible voters representative of Germany's voting-age population.

Concern about Trump's policies spanned the political spectrum, though with varying intensity. Among supporters of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU/CSU alliance, 78% viewed Trump's policies as threatening to the transatlantic alliance.

The figure rose to 92% among Social Democrats, Merz's coalition partner. Opposition parties showed similarly great concern: 85% of Green party voters and 88% of Left Party supporters shared these worries.

Support for Trump's policies was highest among far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) voters, though even there, 59% expressed concern about threats to NATO's future.

The poll also revealed strong opposition to potential US military interventions.

When asked about scenarios where the United States might use military force to secure economic resources in other countries while disregarding international law, 69% said the European Union should clearly oppose such actions. Another 22% argued that Europeans should stay out of it. Only 5% said the EU should support American military operations under those circumstances.