Poll: Majority of Americans think Trump hasn't been tough enough on Saudi Arabia
President Trump's response to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi isn't earning high marks from the American public.
A new poll from Axios/SurveyMonkey found that 56 percent of Americans feel Trump hasn't been tough enough on Saudi Arabia following the murder of Khashoggi, who was killed after visiting the Saudi consulate in Turkey earlier this month. In the aftermath, Trump has repeatedly emphasized that Saudi Arabia is an ally to the United States and has appeared willing to believe the Saudi government's shifting stories about how Khashoggi died, and claims that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had no involvement. In the poll, 32 percent of respondents said Trump's reaction has been about right, while 5 percent said he's been too tough.
The poll's results mainly fall along partisan lines, although Democrats are more united than Republicans. Seventy-eight percent of Democrats think Trump has not been tough enough, while 56 percent of Republicans think his response has been about right; 37 percent of Republicans think that he has not been tough enough. Among Independents, 55 percent think Trump's response has been too soft.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Americans also don't seem to be behind the idea that Saudi Arabia is a friend of the U.S.: Just 10 percent of respondents said Saudi Arabia is an ally, while 35 percent said it's "friendly, but not an ally," 37 percent said it's "unfriendly," and 12 percent said it's an "enemy." Despite all of this, the poll does show that Trump's overall approval rating on foreign policy issues has gone up four points since August to 45 percent.
This poll was conducted by speaking to 3,919 U.S. adults online from Oct. 17 through Oct. 23. The margin of error is +/- 2.5 percentage points. Read the full results at Axios.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Massacre in the favela: Rio’s police take on the gangsIn the Spotlight The ‘defence operation’ killed 132 suspected gang members, but could spark ‘more hatred and revenge’
-
The John Lewis ad: touching, or just weird?Talking Point This year’s festive offering is full of 1990s nostalgia – but are hedonistic raves really the spirit of Christmas?
-
Codeword: November 15, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
-
Trump pardons 2020 fake electors, other GOP alliesSpeed Read The president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and more who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
