Bondi Partners U.S. Pulse – March 2026

The Albanese Government’s posture on Iran is at odds with the expectations that a great many Americans have of their country’s allies, according to the first AFR/Bondi Partners U.S. Pulse — a nationally representative poll of 1,000 American adults.

Nearly half of Americans (44%) and two-thirds of Republicans (65%), agree that allies who publicly back a military operation should also be expected to send their own troops.

Fewer than one in five Americans (19%) disagreed with this perspective.

The Albanese Government’s decision to rule out taking offensive action against Iran or deploying ground forces risks putting Australia out of step with the expectations that Americans have of U.S. allies.

Sixty-five per cent of Republicans, 40 per cent of independent voters and 37 per cent of Democrats took the view that if a U.S. ally publicly supports an American military operation, it should also be expected to send its own troops.

“If a U.S. ally publicly supports an American military operation, it should also be expected to send its own troops.”

The AFR/Bondi Partners U.S. Pulse is a new polling series measuring American attitudes on  issues of public policy that have direct implications for Australia and its relationship with the United States.

As the U.S. races towards mid-term elections in November, President Trump will be acutely sensitive to the attitudes of American voters, and the potential for the Republicans to lose their majority in the House of Representatives and hand Democrats the power to investigate and impeach President Trump and his administration for the remaining years of his presidency.

The AFR/Bondi Partners U.S. Pulse is commissioned by Bondi Partners, the strategic advisory firm founded by former Australian Treasurer and Ambassador to the United States during the first Trump presidency, Joe Hockey.

The AFR/Bondi Partners U.S. Pulse is the only poll that regularly tracks American attitudes to the issues of public policy that impact the Australia-U.S. relationship.

The first U.S. Pulse survey asked Americans about the value of the Australia-U.S. alliance, whether Australia does its fair share as an ally, and whether Americans are better off because of the way America is handling its relationships with allies.

A majority of Americans believe the United States benefits from its alliance with Australia, but they are less clear on whether Australia does its fair share as a U.S. ally.

The March wave of the AFR/Bondi Partners U.S. Pulse was fielded from March 5-9, during the first week of the U.S. military campaign in Iran.

Commentary

President and Founding Partner of Bondi Partners, Joe Hockey, has spent the past week in Washington, meeting with senior congressional leaders and Trump administration officials.

Quotes attributable to Joe Hockey:

“A million American soldiers were stationed in Australia during World War II, and thousands died defending Australia in the Pacific. It isn’t surprising that Americans would expect us to help them, when they need it.”

“Americans want their allies in the fight, not just in the press conference. It is not unreasonable for Americans to expect that if an ally publicly backs a military operation, it should also contribute.”

“Only one in four Americans wants the U.S. to go it alone — and that number is virtually identical among Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Everyday Americans know that America needs to work with its allies.”

“Americans have a warm view of Australia and our contribution to the alliance. But when half of Americans don’t know or can’t say whether Australia does its fair share as an ally, then there is clearly a massive education program ahead for the Australian Government. It would be a mistake to take the support of the American people for granted.”

“Representatives in Congress and the Senate will be interested in this data.”

Other Key Findings: Iran

Americans across the political spectrum prefer multilateral military engagement to unilateralism.

Fewer than one in four Americans (24%) believe the United States should handle military conflicts on its own without relying on allies for combat support.

Remarkably, there is almost no partisan divide on this question: just 25 per cent of Republicans, 25 per cent of Democrats, and 26 per cent of Independents agreed with the idea of America handling military conflicts without allied support.

Close to 40 per cent (39%) of Americans disagreed with America going it alone.

Americans are divided on whether allied support would make them more comfortable with ground troops in Iran — but Republicans are decisively in favour.

When asked if they would be more comfortable with the U.S. sending ground troops into Iran if longstanding allies like Australia and the United Kingdom also sent ground forces, 36 per cent of Americans agreed and 30 per cent disagreed.

But the partisan split is significant: just 27 per cent of Democrats and 31 per cent of Independents agreed that allied participation would make them more comfortable with American boots on the ground.

For Republicans — the political constituency most supportive of the Iran campaign — allied participation is a meaningful factor. A clear majority of Republicans (57%) agreed that they would be more comfortable if the United Kingdom and Australia also sent ground forces.

Other Key Findings: Australia-U.S. Alliance

A majority of Americans believe the United States benefits from its alliance with Australia, but they are less clear on whether Australia does its fair share as a U.S. ally.

While 57 per cent of Americans believe their country benefits from its alliance with Australia, less than half of Americans (44%) agree Australia does its fair share as a U.S. ally.

The most common response when Americans were asked whether Australia does its fair share, was to say they have no opinion or don’t know, with close to half (49%) of people responding that way.

For a U.S. administration known to focus on the transactional value of its relationships with foreign countries, the lack of awareness among Americans about Australia’s contribution to the alliance is a risk factor for Canberra to manage.

Only a third of Americans are confident the way Washington handles allies is making them better off — a 54-point partisan chasm.

Only 34 per cent of Americans agree they are confident the way the U.S. is handling its relationships with allied countries is making Americans better off.

A greater proportion of Americans disagree, with 39 per cent disagreeing and 29 per cent disagreeing strongly. The net score is negative five points, with an extraordinary partisan split.

“I am confident that the way the United States is handling its relationships with allied countries is making Americans better off.”

The 54-point gap between Republicans and Democrats is the widest partisan divide in the entire survey.

Crucially, Independents side with Democrats on this question: only 28 per cent agree that the way the U.S. is handling its relationships with allies is making Americans better off, while 43 per cent disagree. That means the people in the middle of American politics — the important swinging voter cohort — do not believe the current U.S. approach to managing alliances is serving them well.

Methodology

The AFR/Bondi Partners U.S. Pulse is conducted by YouGov. This wave surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults using YouGov’s online panel and was weighted to be nationally representative of the U.S. adult population by age, gender, race, education, and 2024 presidential vote. The overall margin of error is ±3.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. Fieldwork was conducted from March 5-9, 2026.