In a new poll from Axios and SurveyMonkey, 45% of adults in the U.S. say the Olympic Games improve international relations between the countries taking part, while just 4% say they worsen them (and 47% say they make no difference).
Twice as many people in the U.S. (40% vs. 19%) say they view the Olympics as a sports event with athletes competing as say it is an international event with countries competing against one another (and 37% say they view it as both equally)
The overwhelming majority (82%) of adults in the U.S. say they will be rooting for Team USA athletes, and that number rises to 90% among those who plan to watch the Games. But a fair number of people also plan to root for athletes from other participating countries, including:
- Canada (39% for, 8% against)
- United Kingdom (35% for, 8% against)
- Mexico (30% for, 10% against)
- Japan (27% for, 11% against)
- Russia (16% for, 22% against)
- China (16% for, 23% against)
- Iran (15% for, 22% against)
Three quarters (76%) of Americans say they have a net positive reaction when seeing the American flag displayed at the Olympics, while just 3% have a negative reaction and 18% have neither a positive nor negative reaction.
- 91% of Republicans have a net positive reaction, including 85% who have a very positive reaction; just 1% have a negative reaction (7% neither positive nor negative)
- 68% of of Democrats have a net positive reaction, including 47% who have a very positive reaction; just 5% have a net negative reaction (26% neither positive nor negative)
- White Americans (80%) are more likely than Hispanics (75%), Blacks (63%), and Americans of other races (68%) to have a positive reaction when they see the American flag at the Olympics
For more detailed results, click through the interactive toplines below.
Read more about our polling methodology here.
