Rattled by the slaughter in Paris, 60 percent of young Americans support sending U.S. ground troops to combat ISIS, a 12 percentage-point increase after the Nov. 13 attacks that killed 130, according to a new poll of 18- to 29-year-olds.
The Institute of Politics at Harvard, which has been polling the attitudes of millennials since 2000, also found that only 16 percent of young Americans said they “have already,” “would definitely,” or “would strongly consider” joining the U.S. military to combat ISIS if additional troops were needed.
"There clearly seems to be a disconnect between what [young] people say they prefer the country do and what they would do as an individual," IOP pollster John Della Volpe told reporters.
Past surveys at Harvard and elsewhere have revealed American millennials to be more globally connected than past generations, and generally supportive of increased U.S. engagement abroad.
The IOP survey of 2,011 18- to 29-year-old U.S. citizens between Oct. 30 and Nov. 9 showed a split on the question of sending U.S. ground troops to fight ISIS—48 percent for and 48 percent against. When the question was asked again after the attacks, 60 percent supported ground troops and 40 percent opposed.