Do Americans support Trump plans to expand US? Poll finds even split on one territory

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has expressed interest — unprecedented in the modern era — in expanding the size of the U.S. He’s said he would like the U.S. to acquire Canada, Greenland, the Panama Canal and the Gaza Strip.

In the case of Canada, he has said economic coercion could be used to accomplish his goal, while for some others, he has not ruled out the use of military force.

What do Americans make of these plans? A plurality are against the U.S. gaining territory in general, a new poll says. And majorities or pluralities also oppose acquiring three of the places Trump has targeted.

However, one area — the Panama Canal, a onetime U.S. territory — has Americans evenly divided, the YouGov poll said.

The poll, conducted between Feb. 4 and 6, sampled 1,142 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

Opinions on territorial expansion in general

About half of respondents, 48%, said the U.S. should not attempt to expand its territory in general. Meanwhile, 33% said it should try to expand, though not through force, and just a small fraction, 4%, said it should expand, even through force.

Opinions diverged greatly based on partisan affiliation, with a majority of Republicans, 57%, favoring expansion either without (51%) or with the potential use of force (6%).

In contrast, just 26% of Democrats said they supported increasing the size of the U.S., with 23% favoring peaceful expansion and 3% favoring the potential use of force.

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal — which was returned to Panama in 1999 under the terms of a 1978 treaty — was the one place that left Americans evenly split.

Forty-two percent of respondents said they favored the U.S. acquiring the canal — with 30% saying it should be done through peaceful means and 12% saying force should be on the table.

Equally, 42% said they were opposed to taking control of the waterway, and 16% said they were not sure.

The vast majority of Republicans, 72%, said they favored acquiring the Panama Canal, with 47% supporting a peaceful takeover and 25% supporting the potential use of force.

In contrast, just 23% of Democrats expressed support for taking control of the canal, with 20% favoring a peaceful takeover and 3% favoring means that could include force.

Greenland

A plurality of respondents, 45%, said they were against the U.S. acquiring Greenland, while 33% were in favor of taking control — either through peaceful means (30%) or through the potential use of force (3%).

Here again, most Republicans, 56%, were in favor, with 51% supporting peaceful acquisition and just a fraction, 5%, supporting means that could include force.

Seventy-one percent of Democrats, meanwhile, were opposed to taking control of the Danish territory, while just 15% were in favor.

Canada

In contrast to the Panama Canal and Greenland, a majority of respondents, 59%, said they oppose the U.S. taking control of Canada. Twenty-six percent favor it, with 23% supporting a peaceful acquisition and 3% supporting the potential use of force.

A plurality of Republicans, 43%, also opposed taking control of America’s northern neighbor, while 41% support the idea. Of that share, just 5% support potentially using force.

Democrats registered their strongest level of opposition to taking control of Canada, with 75% opposed. Meanwhile, 17% were in favor, with just 1% favoring means that could include force.

Gaza Strip

A majority of respondents, 54%, also said they opposed the U.S. gaining sovereignty over the Gaza Strip. Just 24% said they supported the idea, with 7% of that share saying they favored using means that could include force.

A plurality of Republicans, 40%, said they opposed acquiring the strip — where the Israeli military is engaged in a war with Hamas. Thirty-four percent, in contrast, favor taking control of it, with 12% of that share saying they favored potentially using force.

A majority of Democrats, 70%, said they were against the U.S. taking control of the Gaza Strip. Seventeen percent said they supported the idea, with just 3% of that share in support of means that could include force.

This story was originally published February 12, 2025 at 10:36 AM with the headline "Do Americans support Trump plans to expand US? Poll finds even split on one territory."