Trump’s criticism makes Australia alliance a partisan issue for voters

Support for the U.S.–Australia alliance is becoming a partisan issue for American voters, according to the second wave of the Bondi Partners U.S. Pulse — a nationally representative poll of 1,000 American adults — as President Trump’s repeated public criticism of Australia over the Iran war registers with voters.

The headline numbers look stable: 59 per cent of Americans agree the United States benefits from its alliance with Australia, up marginally from 57 per cent in March. But the topline masks a significant partisan shift underneath.

Among Republicans, strong agreement that the U.S. benefits from the alliance with Australia fell twelve points in a single month, from 34 per cent to 22 per cent.

Democrats feel that Australia does its fair share as a U.S. ally. Rallying in support of the alliance as a form of opposition to the Trump administration’s approach to allied countries, strong agreement among Democrats that Australia does its fair share rose seven points from 31 per cent to 38 per cent.

The Bondi Partners U.S. Pulse is a monthly polling series measuring American attitudes on issues of public policy that have direct implications for Australia and its relationship with the United States. It is the only poll that regularly tracks American attitudes to the issues that impact the Australia-U.S. relationship.

The March wave was fielded in the first week of the month, during the first days of the Iran conflict. The April wave was fielded from April 2–6, after a period in which Australia’s relationship with the United States was under sustained public pressure.

President Trump had publicly criticized Australia’s contribution to the Iran war effort on at least four occasions over the preceding three weeks, with his comments escalating from expressing “surprise” that Australia declined to participate, to calling Australia “not great,” to listing Australia alongside Japan and South Korea as countries that “didn’t help us.”

On Easter Monday — the final day of polling — Trump named Australia explicitly at a White House press conference: “You know who else didn’t help us? Australia didn’t help us.” He has said he will “never forget” which nations helped and which did not.

The data suggests the president’s rhetoric is registering with voters. The greatest weakening in support for the alliance have come from Republicans — the voter group most exposed to and receptive to the president’s messaging. The criticism has strengthened Democrat belief that Australia does its fair share. Independents continue to be less sure if America benefits from the alliance, or if Australia does its fair share.

Confidence in Washington’s handling of allied relationships continues to deteriorate — and even Republicans are losing faith.

Only 33 per cent of Americans agree they are confident the way the United States is handling its relationships with allied countries is making Americans better off — virtually unchanged from 34 per cent in March. Thirty-nine per cent disagree, with 29 per cent disagreeing strongly. The net score remains negative at minus six points.

But the direction of travel among Republicans is notable. Agreement dropped eight points in a single month, from 68 per cent in March to 60 per cent in April. Even the president’s own supporters are becoming less confident that Washington’s approach to managing allied relationships is making them better off.

Quotes attributable to Joe Hockey, President and Founding Partner, Bondi Partners:

“It’s not in Australia’s interests to ignore this data. We have always had strong support amongst the American public for the security relationship with Australia. This was particularly strong amongst Republicans.”

“This needs urgent government action: our adversaries will be paying close attention.”

“When the relationship between President Trump and Prime Minister Turnbull hit some speed bumps, it was the overwhelming support for Australia amongst Republican voters that most heavily influenced key White House decision makers.”

Quotes attributable to Sam LaHood, Director of Government Affairs, U.S., Bondi Partners:

“The Bully Pulpit under President Trump is still most powerful megaphone in American politics, and this data shows it working in real time. President Trump has criticized Australia publicly four times in three weeks, and that has an impact.”

“Every time the president calls out Australia and says ‘they didn’t help us,’ it chips away at 75 years of alliance goodwill for many Americans.”

“The risk for Australia as this rift continues, is that the alliance that has been broadly popular and supported, instead becomes mired in the same polarization that defines so much of U.S. politics.”

Polling methodology

The 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 per cent confidence level. Fieldwork was conducted from April 2–6, 2026.