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Poll Shows Voters Reject US-Israel Military Integration

Zero Rss
1 month 3 weeks ago
Poll Shows Voters Reject US-Israel Military Integration

Authored by Brett Wilkins via Common Dreams

A new poll of US voters published this week offers a warning for congressional lawmakers backing a plan to deepen military ties between the United States and Israel, finding that a clear majority of voters oppose the proposal—which some critics have called "treasonous."

The Data for Progress survey of 1,217 likely US voters—conducted August 3–7 for Demand Progress and the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) Policy Project—revealed that 61% of respondents oppose legislation in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2027 that would integrate Israeli weapons companies into the Pentagon at a level exceeding that of any other country. That figure rose to 78% among Democrats and 73% among independents.

via AFP

“This poll is a flashing red warning sign for any member of Congress who supports the defense authorization bill,” Demand Progress senior policy adviser Cavan Kharrazian said in a statement. “A clear majority of voters do not support further integrating the Israeli military and Israeli military companies into the Pentagon, which the NDAA is set to do.”

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted last month 216-212, mostly along party lines, in favor of a record $1.15 trillion NDAA. The military spending bill contains Section 219, a provision that would create a US–Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative, accelerating joint defense research, development, testing, and integration of technologies including artificial intelligence, missile defense, and counter-drone systems.

Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) submitted an amendment to strip Section 219 from the NDAA. The measure failed to pass.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who voted against the NDAA, described Section 219 as “an outrageous threat to our country’s security and autonomy.”

The Senate version of the military spending authorization bill has a related provision—Section 1217, the United States-Israel FUTURES Act—and the two chambers will need to reconcile their NDAA legislation before the final language is decided. Reconciliation is not expected to occur before November at the earliest.

“It’s time for Congress to listen to the American people for once, and not the same voices who always want to cut Israel a blank check,” Kharrazian said. That “blank check” has totaled more than $174 billion in non-inflation-adjusted aid since the modern state of Israel was founded in 1948.

The new poll found that 57% of respondents believe the Israeli military and Israeli weapons companies should not receive increased access to US military systems. Fifty-one percent said Israel benefits more from the US-Israel relationship, compared with just 12% who said the United States benefits more.

Although Republican voters support the Pentagon provision by a 16-point margin, when asked about it without additional context, they are considerably less enthusiastic about the idea of granting any foreign military special access, opposing it 62%-27%.

Forty percent of surveyed voters said they believe that the US-Israeli relationship is “too close,” compared with 42% who say it is “about right.” Among Democrats, 56% say relations are too close, versus just 23% who say about right. Twenty-two percent of Republicans and 43% of Independents said US-Israeli relations are too close.

Asked if they think President Donald Trump is too supportive of Israel’s right-wing government, 49% said yes, compared with only 33% who said the president is giving Israel the right amount of backing and just 8% who believe he’s not giving the key ally enough support.

Respondents’ views of Israel itself have deteriorated markedly, with 44% saying they now view the country less favorably than they did three years ago—compared with just 17% who say their views have improved amid the war of annihilation in Gaza that United Nations experts, human rights groups, and a South Africa-led case currently before the International Court of Justice call a genocide, as well as the wider Israeli occupation, colonization, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid in Palestine.

Looking only at the past six months, 41% of respondents said their view of Israel has become less favorable, versus 16% who say it has become more favorable. Among Democrats, the split is 56%-13%; among Independents it’s 42%-11%.

“Israel is a nation committing genocide that just dragged the American people into a disastrous war that is still hitting our pocketbooks,” IMEU Policy Project executive director Margaret DeReus said, referring to the Iran War. “Senators take an oath to do what is best for the American people above all; to uphold that oath, they must scrap this ridiculous proposal.”

“It is the height of absurdity,” DeReus added, “that Congress is even considering a proposal to become more entangled with the Israeli military and use our tax dollars to subsidize their weapons companies.”

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 20:05
Tyler Durden

Watch Darline Graham's Epic Debate Flub That Could Cost Her The SC Primary

Zero Rss
1 month 3 weeks ago
Watch Darline Graham's Epic Debate Flub That Could Cost Her The SC Primary

In the worst response by a female South Carolinian to a foreign-policy question since the 2007 Teen USA beauty pageant, Lindsey Graham's sister on Tuesday night painfully displayed her utter inexperience in national politics, drawing a blank and bailing out of a basic question as she squared off against her run-off opponent, Rep. Ralph Norman.  

After Sen. Lindsey Graham's sudden July death, Gov. Henry McMaster appointed his sister Darline to see out the remaining months of his term. It started as a sentimental gesture that would have her serve as a mere 6-month custodian while "real" candidates vied in a special primary to replace Lindsey Graham on the November ballot. However, it suddenly turned into the latest bewildering Trump endorsement, with the president pushing the utterly inexperienced woman to enter the primary and serve the full, six-year term that will start in January. Darline Graham has never held an elected office. Until this summer, she was commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, and earlier held a communications role in the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department. 

Sorry, appointing Darline Graham to simply finish Senator Graham's term was one thing, and not historically unprecedented, but having her run for the next term, with Trump's support, is crazy.

This is essentially the emotional equivalent of a DEI pick for Republicans.

She is… pic.twitter.com/8wWJXzqUI7

— Brad Polumbo (@brad_polumbo) August 19, 2026

Despite Trump's endorsement, Graham only managed to attract 33% of the vote in the special Aug 11 balloting, forcing her into an Aug 26 runoff against second-place finisher Norman, who earned 25% of the votes in a crowded field. Her lackluster showing reflected South Carolina Republicans' deep unease with Trump trying to turn one of their Senate seats into an inheritance for someone with a joke of a political resume. 

There was already a sense that at least some significant chunk of the non-Graham Aug 11 vote would gravitate to Norman in the runoff. That feeling accelerated during Tuesday night's debate, and particularly during a disastrous moment that fully exposed Graham as an absurd Trump endorsee. Graham was merely asked if Taiwan and the South China Sea are national security issues for the United States. 

Having clearly not done her homework, Graham first asked for the question to be repeated. With the second reading doing nothing to help Graham formulate even so much as a "yes" answer, she surrendered, saying, "I'm just going to be honest here -- I'm not, on national security, that -- I'm not that informed on national security. So..."

Q: Are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the US?

Darline Graham: I'm not that informed on national security, so... National security is not my thing pic.twitter.com/R3aX7IoeGD

— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) August 19, 2026

After her voice trailed off for a moment amid audible murmuring from the debate audience, Graham made things worse by offering up a goofy non sequitur: "But I do support the military. My brother was in the Air Force for 33 years, so I will do everything I can to support the military. My dad was in the Army."  

Her flameout still wasn't finished. Not realizing that silence would be best at this point, Graham opted to reiterate her profession of incompetency. "I'm not a polished politician up here. National security is not my thing -- not my area of expertise -- but I do support the military." Keep in mind, Graham is already in the Senate on an interim basis. National security may not be her "thing," but it most certainly is a Senate "thing."  

Her failure drew apt comparisons to Miss South Carolina's legendary response to a question in the 2007 Miss Teen USA pageant. Then-18-year-old Caite Upton took a question about American's poor grasp of world geography and turned it into .... well... whatever the hell this was:  

Having driven her campaign into a tree, Graham ventured to mount a crisis-response effort on Wednesday, facilitated by vacuous Trump lap dog Sean Hannity. It was on Hannity's Fox News show that Graham first announced her intention to pursue a full Senate term, with Hannity pretending to marvel at Graham's accomplishments at the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. Last night, Graham confessed to having "tripped up on one question." Ignoring the significance of her inability to answer the question, Graham told Hannity, "I'm not a politician, certainly not a career politician, I don't speak politician." 

Darline Graham: I tripped up on one question last night, regarding Taiwan. I don't speak politician. I was just honest. Of course, Taiwan is our friend. But I think people in South Carolina are more worried about boys in girls sports. pic.twitter.com/xKZNxkldrN

— Acyn (@Acyn) August 20, 2026

It's safe to say most South Carolina Republicans don't want Graham to speak politician. But it's reasonable to expect her to at least conjure a few boilerplate sentences about one of world's top potential hot spots, particularly at a time when the US military has exhausted an alarming proportion of its arsenal in a war of choice on Iran that has turned into a nearly six-month-long disaster, with no resolution in sight... a war that Trump plunged into after Darline's brother Lindsey collaborated with the Israeli prime minister to convince him it would be a quick and historic victory. 

On Tuesday we'll find out the extent to which South Carolina Republicans will ignore the evidence before them and mindlessly outsource their decision to Donald Trump. 

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 19:40
Tyler Durden

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