Washington | Only 37.4% of active servicemen in the US military are in favor of a second term for President Donald Trump, while 43.1% support his Democratic rival Joe Biden, according to a new poll released Monday.
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According to this poll by the Military Times and the Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and Military Families, half of soldiers have an unfavorable opinion of Mr. Trump and 42% strongly disapprove of him. 38% say on the contrary that they have a favorable opinion on the president.
Support for Mr. Trump has therefore fallen compared to the last poll in December 2019, when he had 42% favorable opinions.
The poll, carried out among 1,018 people, was done before the recent Republican and Democratic conventions.
Career officers are more represented there than young soldiers, notes the Military Times. So this is not an exact reflection of what the entire US military thinks.
Mr. Trump often says he enjoys strong support within the military, touting, for example, the increased funds allocated to the Pentagon.
But his tenure was also marked by frequent disagreements with the leaders of the Ministry of Defense. Former Minister Jim Mattis thus announced that he was leaving his post in December 2018, notably criticizing Donald Trump’s diplomatic strategy; and the current incumbent, Mark Esper, as well as Chief of Staff Mark Milley, have had differences with the president over policy issues.