NEW POLL: OLDER, REPUBLICAN-LEANING VETERANS REJECT VA LAYOFFS, TRUMP’S MILITARY PARADE, AND MORE DEPLOYMENTS TO THE MIDDLE EAST
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 3, 2025
PRESS CONTACT: press@commondefense.us
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new national poll of military veterans from all political backgrounds, commissioned by Common Defense and conducted by Data for Progress, finds that a majority of veterans—often including veterans who are self-identified Republicans and in the older cohort—oppose key parts of President Trump’s agenda, and strongly support several policies that are at odds with the administration.
Key findings:
70% of veterans, including a majority of veterans who are Independents (71%) and Republicans (54%), say they are opposed to the Trump administration “ordering active duty U.S. military troops to perform a parade in honor of President Trump’s birthday.”
When asked about “firing 83,000 healthcare and benefits workers from the Department of Veterans Affairs,” a strong majority of veterans (66%) are opposed, including a majority of Independents (69%) and a plurality of Republicans (48%).
A plurality of veterans (47%) say the U.S. should deploy troops to the Middle East less, while 31% say the U.S. is doing this the right amount, and 10% say the U.S. should deploy more troops.
More than 3 in 4 veterans support “approving more clean energy projects in order to increase the number of jobs in the industry available to veterans” (77%) and “granting U.S. citizenship immediately to all noncitizens who serve in the U.S. military” (77%).
“No matter what side of the aisle we stand on politically, veterans know what’s at stake when politicians start talking about ‘reforming’ the VA—because we’re the ones who rely on it,” said Naveed Shah, Political Director at Common Defense and U.S. Army veteran. “This poll makes it crystal clear that veterans—especially older and conservative ones—want leaders who protect the care and benefits we earned, not rip them away.”
Even among Republican veterans, support for firing VA staff is surprisingly low, signaling a sharp divide with Trump-aligned proposals like those outlined in Project 2025. The poll also shows lukewarm support for Donald Trump himself — while a slight majority of veterans overall have a favorable opinion of Trump, a majority of veterans who are Independents and women have an unfavorable opinion, and older veterans are closely divided.
“This data reinforces what we already see on the ground: veterans are not a monolith, and more of us are rejecting Trump’s extremist agenda—including the wasteful, authoritarian idea of using troops to honor his birthday with a parade,” said Jose Vasquez, Executive Director of Common Defense and U.S. Army veteran. “From defending the VA to ending forever wars, veterans are standing up for our values and speaking out against this administration’s abuse of power.”
The poll was conducted by Data for Progress from April 18-25, 2025, surveying 574 adult veterans nationally using web panel respondents.
The poll asked questions on other topics not highlighted in this release. Full results of the poll can be found here.
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Common Defense Civic Engagement is a grassroots, veteran-led organization (501c4) that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props, and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.