{"id":2547706,"date":"2026-01-22T10:05:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T15:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-foreign-focus-could-turn-off-voters-worried-about-the-economy\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T10:08:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T15:08:47","slug":"trumps-foreign-focus-could-turn-off-voters-worried-about-the-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-foreign-focus-could-turn-off-voters-worried-about-the-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump&#8217;s foreign focus could turn off voters worried about the economy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrumps-foreign-focus-could-turn-off-voters-worried-about-the-economy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2547706&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>President Trump&#8217;s emphasis on foreign policy is creating a perception that he&#8217;s not attending enough to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jd-vance-warns-against-election-overreaction-but-calls-out-3-things-that-need-to-change\/\" title=\"JD Vance Warns Against Election Overreaction, But Calls Out 3 Things That Need to Change\">domestic economic concerns<\/a>, which could hurt him with voters focused on the economy. Polling shows limited public support for some of his proposals-51% opposed buying Greenland (29% in favor),and a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >significant plurality oppose military action<\/a> in Iran or an invasion of Venezuela-while his foreign-policy approval averages about 40.9% (53.9% disapprove).Partisan divides are large: most republicans back his actions in Venezuela and Iran, while Democrats largely oppose them.<\/p>\n<p>Analysts warn that, outside of a direct attack on the U.S., broad public backing for new military interventions is unlikely beyond Trump&#8217;s base (roughly 40%), and ancient comparisons show presidents can lose high approval if perceived as neglecting domestic issues. Trump has since backed away from using military force over greenland and from planned tariffs tied to annexation, but critics say he hasn&#8217;t always followed through on tougher &#8220;red line&#8221; threats. Republicans, defending slim congressional majorities, remain concerned because the economy-once Trump&#8217;s strongest issue-continues to be a central voter priority.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trump&rsquo;s foreign focus could turn off voters worried about the economy<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2479999\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>&rsquo;s attention to foreign affairs may be contributing to public perceptions that he isn&rsquo;t focused enough on the U.S. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/economy\/\">economy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Polls have shown anemic support for Trump&rsquo;s military operations, even though they have been reasonably successful and led to few American casualties.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4428706\/trump-mlb-nba-nfl-nhl-commissioners-america-250\/\">Trump to meet with MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL commissioners over America 250 plans<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4423912\/noem-lewandowski-campaign-oust-trump-border-leader-sources\/\">Noem and Lewandowski waged campaign to oust Trump&#8217;s border leader: Sources<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4428524\/newsom-trump-administration-blocked-davos-address\/\">Newsom claims Trump administration blocked his Davos speaking engagement<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s calls to annex <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/greenland\/\">Greenland<\/a> have proven unpopular. The prospect of doing so by military force has garnered single-digit support in surveys and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4426294\/house-blockade-tariff-votes-trump-greenland-threats\/\">little enthusiasm<\/a> among Republicans on Capitol Hill, who have overwhelmingly backed the president&rsquo;s strikes on the Iranian nuclear sites and toppling of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-kennedy\/\">John Kennedy <\/a>(R-LA) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/republican-senator-says-lindsey-graham-162614151.html\">wrote<\/a> of his famously hawkish colleague Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/lindsey-graham\/\">Lindsey Graham<\/a> (R-SC), &ldquo;If you want to stump Lindsey, just ask him to name a country he wouldn&rsquo;t bomb.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The answer may be <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/denmark\/\">Denmark<\/a>, as Graham <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ramsberry1\/status\/2014057165036650917\">applauded Trump<\/a> for having &ldquo;rightly removed the option of taking Greenland by force&rdquo; in remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos.<\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s approval rating on foreign policy stands at 40.9%, according to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/approval\/donald-trump\/issues\/foreign-policy\"><em>RealClearPolitics <\/em>polling average<\/a>, compared to 53.9% who disapprove.&nbsp; That&rsquo;s a touch below his <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/approval\/donald-trump\/approval-rating\">overall job approval rating<\/a>, which is also underwater by double digits.<\/p>\n<p>A YouGov poll found that 51% were opposed to the United States buying Greenland, while only 29% supported the idea. The use of American military force to overthrow Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran has polled better, but 42% said they were against the idea compared to 32% who were in favor.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>By contrast, then-President George H.W. Bush saw his job approval ratings hit 90%, a number not seen again until his son was commander in chief in the aftermath of the 9\/11 terrorist attacks, when he ejected Iraqi troops from Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War. Perhaps more comparable to Trump&rsquo;s actions in Venezuela, both <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/archives\/la-xpm-1989-12-22-mn-684-story.html\">Americans<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1990\/01\/06\/us\/the-noriega-case-public-opinion-panamanians-strongly-back-us-move.html\">Panamanians<\/a> told <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.icpsr.umich.edu\/web\/ICPSR\/studies\/9496\/variables\">pollsters<\/a> they were supportive of the elder Bush&rsquo;s removal of Manuel Noriega as that country&rsquo;s dictator.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>An <em>Economist<\/em>\/YouGov poll earlier this month found respondents opposed a military invasion of Venezuela <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/today.yougov.com\/politics\/articles\/53818-us-military-action-venezuela-unpopular-republican-support-has-risen-january-2-5-2026-economist-yougov-poll\">by 30 points<\/a>, and this represented an increase in support for such an incursion. A <em>Wall Street Journal <\/em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/politics\/policy\/voters-narrowly-support-maduros-removal-but-dont-want-the-u-s-to-run-venezuela-0884e501?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqcSFieI0xkdkiXfsoDL2ObB3cPni1Qy5WdlXkVoTl-9iauTTMJcsmSvi5-v5G0%3D&amp;gaa_ts=6971aa19&amp;gaa_sig=asJCbL0I9eHOrnGIKTC31qCjaY1vQu8FWetuBQZt5EbYOB5fktB6_lg5_K19xqwEf80kF0zpqg2l1dPLfc2XPg%3D%3D\">poll<\/a> found 49% of Americans in favor of Maduro&rsquo;s removal, to 47% who were opposed, with a solid 57% majority saying they don&rsquo;t want Washington to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/columnists\/4406336\/venezuela-all-depends-on-meaning-of-run\/\">&ldquo;run&rdquo; Venezuela<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Some of this just reflects greater partisan polarization than existed in the late 1980s and early &lsquo;90s. The <em>Wall Street Journal <\/em>poll concluded that 89% of Republicans backed what Trump has done in Venezuela thus far, while 86% of Democrats are opposed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>At this point, it is probably difficult for any Trump-backed military intervention to be popular with much more than the approximately 40% of the electorate that supports him, barring an attack on the American homeland.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Even with greater support for Bush 41&rsquo;s military actions, he still blew his sky-high approval ratings when he wasn&rsquo;t seen caring enough about domestic issues during the 1990-91 recession and ultimately lost in 1992 to Bill Clinton, who vowed to &ldquo;focus like a laser beam&rdquo; on the economy.<\/p>\n<p>There is not much evidence of the MAGA revolt against Trump over Iran or Venezuela that some conservative influencers predicted last summer. A <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ipsos.com\/en-us\/most-americans-support-immediately-ending-us-involvement-conflict-iran\"><em>Reuters\/<\/em>Ipsos poll<\/a> conducted after the airstrikes found a large bipartisan majority wanted a rapid end to U.S. involvement, but 69% of Republicans supported the strikes themselves. Seven in 10 Republicans were in favor of Trump&rsquo;s handling of Iran, though only 35% of all respondents approved.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, Trump ran on ending international conflicts and was elected in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-cbp-head-biden-administration-is-facilitating-illegal-immigration-into-america\/\" title=\"Former CBP Head: Biden Administration \u2018Is Facilitating Illegal Immigration\u2019 Into America\">large part due<\/a> to domestic issues like high inflation and the faltering economy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not about policy but focus. Voters in the U.S. are much more domestically-focused and they see their President much more internationally-focused,&rdquo; Republican pollster Brent Buchanan wrote in his Tuesday memo. &ldquo;They don&rsquo;t disagree with the problems he&rsquo;s trying to solve, but it makes them feel like he doesn&rsquo;t care about their daily concerns.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump swore off the military option on Greenland on Wednesday and announced he would not proceed with planned tariffs against European opponents of annexation, saying the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4428071\/us-framework-deal-greenland-mark-rutte-meeting-trump\/\">framework of a deal<\/a> was in place. Some have criticized Trump for not following through on his &ldquo;red line&rdquo; threat to punish the Iranian regime for killing anti-ayatollah, anti-government protesters.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4424445\/trump-board-of-peace-gaza-countries-invited\/\"><strong>WHO WAS INVITED TO BE ON TRUMP&rsquo;S &lsquo;BOARD OF PEACE&rsquo;?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Republicans are seeking to maintain their narrow congressional majorities this year, with polls showing there is still widespread dissatisfaction with the economy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The economy was Trump&rsquo;s strongest issue during his first term, until the pandemic, and through much of the 2024 campaign.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump&#8217;s foreign focus worries economy-focused voters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2659,"featured_media":2547707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26021516481123.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32431,9168,50462,3634,34174],"class_list":["post-2547706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-2024-election","tag-economy","tag-foreign-policy-2","tag-trump","tag-voter-concerns"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26021516481123.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2547706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2547706"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2547706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2547710,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2547706\/revisions\/2547710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2547707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2547706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2547706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2547706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}