About half of surveyed troops, veterans, and military families disapproved of President Trump’s and Pete Hegseth’s leadership, with approval a few points lower, according to a new poll.
Story Snapshot
- About 50% disapproved of President Trump’s job as commander in chief; 47% approved.
- Pete Hegseth drew about 50% disapproval and 45% approval in the same survey.
- The poll included 731 active-duty members, veterans, and military family respondents.
- Two-thirds said military decisions under Trump were for political gain; half said politicization pushed them toward leaving service sooner.
What The Poll Actually Found
Common Defense fielded an online survey that asked military-connected Americans to rate President Trump and Pete Hegseth. About half disapproved of Trump’s leadership, while 47% approved. Hegseth posted similar numbers, with about 50% disapproval and 45% approval. The survey included 731 respondents across active-duty members, veterans, and military families and reported a four-point margin of error. The Hill summarized the results and noted the online mode and demographic lean of the sample.
The same poll reported strong views on politicization. Sixty-seven percent said military decisions under Trump were made for political gain. Fifty-three percent said politicization made them want to separate from service sooner. Those figures help explain the approval splits. When people think politics drives orders, trust drops. That is a basic military truth: troops follow tough calls when they believe the mission, not a political goal, sits in the driver’s seat.
Who Was Surveyed And Why It Matters
The respondent pool mixed three groups: active-duty personnel, veterans, and military families. That design captures the broader military community, but it blurs differences between those who wear the uniform now and those who did in the past. The available reporting did not present veteran-only breakouts for Trump or Hegseth. That means the headline takeaway applies to the combined group, not solely to veterans as a distinct segment.
The survey used online recruitment and carried a margin of error near four points. The Hill noted the sample skewed older, whiter, more male, and more Republican. That profile matters for interpretation because it can cut both ways. On one hand, a Republican-leaning sample still produced a net negative approval for Trump and Hegseth, which suggests the concerns ran deep. On the other, any nonprobability online sample can miss parts of the population.
How These Findings Fit A Larger Pattern
Reports of rising concern about politicization have appeared across different studies. A 2022–2023 project summarized by the Heritage Foundation stated that most surveyed active-duty members had seen at least some politicization and viewed it as a concern. That survey used an online panel and should be treated as a signal of a recurring issue rather than a final population estimate. The consistency of this theme across sources points to a long-running friction between politics and command trust.
Public debate often narrows complex military attitudes to a single number. That misses the link between approval and day-to-day experience. If service members sense policy swings come from political calculation, they question readiness and purpose. The Common Defense results placed that sentiment next to job approval. The pairing matters because it suggests approval did not fall in a vacuum; it moved with beliefs about why leaders made choices in the first place.
What To Watch Next
Future surveys should publish full questionnaires, subgroup sizes, and cross-tabs. Veteran-only, active-duty-only, and family-only results would clarify which group drives the overall net negative view. Fielding a probability-based sample would also help confirm whether these approval gaps hold up with different methods. Transparent wording about “approval,” “political gain,” and “early separation” would further show how each idea relates to the others in people’s minds.
President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth are underwater in their approval ratings with veterans and military members, according to a poll conducted by Common Defense.https://t.co/MtiknGoqQP
— abc27 News (@abc27News) November 3, 2026
Policy leaders can act without waiting for the perfect poll. Reduce the sense of politics in command decisions. Set clear mission-first criteria. Explain trade-offs to troops and families in plain language. Reward candor from the ranks. These steps align with American conservative values of duty, order, and accountability. Approval follows trust, and trust follows fairness that people can see. Rebuilding that chain is the shortest path from disapproval back to confidence.
Sources:
thehill.com, alternet.org, filesforprogress.org
