The United States military, under orders from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, is still taking kinetic action against cartel speedboats attempting to bring drugs into the United States. And if you understand "kinetic action" to mean "reducing them to flying spare parts," you'd be correct. Now, the Trump administration is taking criticism from the usual suspects over all this, but it seems the American people, by and large, support detonating drug smuggling boats. A new Issues & Insights (I&I)/TIPP poll has some interesting findings.
I&I/TIPP asked respondents: “The U.S. military has been destroying boats in the Caribbean and Pacific carrying illegal drugs from Venezuela and Colombia that are blamed for many American deaths. Do you support or oppose these air strikes to stop shipments of illegal drugs, including fentanyl and similar narcotics?”
Support was strong across the board, with 60% favoring the policy “strongly” (37%) or “somewhat,” while just 28% opposed it either “strongly” (16%) or “somewhat” (12%), and another 12% saying they weren’t sure.
Republicans were strongest in backing the policy, with 82% saying they support it, and just 9% saying they oppose it. Independents and third-party members were also strongly behind the policy, with 50% supporting and 35% opposing.
But even the Democrats didn’t oppose it. They split evenly, with 45% in support and 45% in opposition.
Here are the raw results:
— Ward Clark (@TheGreatLander) November 20, 2025
There are some unexpected results in there.
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The level of support from Republicans is significant. 82 percent of Republican respondents either strongly support (60 percent!) or support (22 percent) detonating drug smuggling boats. Only 9 percent somewhat oppose or strongly oppose. 9 percent are not sure.
The interesting figures come from independents, wherein 50 percent either strongly support (26 percent) or somewhat support (24 percent), while 35 percent are against it, with 17 percent somewhat opposing, and 18 percent strongly opposing. 14 percent are not sure.
Democrats, though, show a plurality in support. 46 percent either strongly support (24 percent) or somewhat support (22 percent), while the opposing numbers are, not surprisingly, higher, where 45 percent either strongly oppose (30 percent) or somewhat oppose (15 percent). Democrat respondents, then, are a wash. 10 percent are not sure.
The overall numbers show 50 percent of respondents in support, with 37 percent strongly supporting, and 23 percent somewhat supporting, while only 28 percent oppose, with 12 percent somewhat opposing and 16 percent strongly opposing, and 12 percent not sure.
Of course, if there's one thing we know about President Trump, it is that he doesn't act or refrain from acting due to polls. But, while the current practice of giving cartel drug smugglers a one-way ticket to the ocean floor has been the topic of plenty of criticism from the Democrats in general, at least this poll shows that Americans are in favor of it. It's not an overwhelming result, except among Republicans. But it's a significant one.
Here, though, is the really interesting result:
I&I/TIPP then asked a follow-on question about escalating the attacks: “If these air strikes do not stop the flow of drugs, would you support broader military action against the nations that allow drug and smuggling cartels to operate within their borders?”
Once again, support was solid, with 57% saying they would back such a move either “strongly” (33%) or “somewhat” (24%), compared to 27% who would oppose it either “somewhat” (12%) or “strongly” (15%). Another 16% weren’t sure.
Again, major decisions like this should not be made via consulting the latest polling. That's a horrible way to run a railroad, and an even worse way to run a nation. Such a move would involve putting American warriors in harm's way, and that's not something that should ever be taken lightly.
But should the administration decide it's necessary, it appears, at least from this report, that the American people will support it.
Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.
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