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An overwhelming 90.8% of the Turkish public believes the United States is not a reliable ally for Türkiye, according to a Metropoll survey conducted in March 2026, a nearly five-point increase from the same period last year and a figure that cuts across every major political party.
Only 6.8% of respondents said they considered the United States a reliable ally, down from 8.9% in March 2025. Those who said the U.S. is not reliable rose from 86.2% to 90.8% over the same period.
The survey's most striking finding is the near-universal nature of the sentiment across Türkiye's political spectrum.
Among voters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), 88.8% said the U.S. is not reliable, up from 85% a year ago. Among the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), the figure was 94.1%, up from 90.5%.
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) recorded 89.4% distrust, up from 86.2%. The Good (IYI) Party's voters registered 91.7%, up from 88.6%.
The pro-Kurdish People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) saw the sharpest swing, with distrust rising from 80.5% to 84.1%, though the party also recorded the highest "don't know" response at 8.5%.
Even among protest voters, 92.8% said the U.S. is not a reliable ally.
Only AK Party voters showed single-digit support for viewing the U.S. as reliable at 9.4%, followed by MHP at 9.8%. CHP voters who see the U.S. as reliable dropped to just 3.6%.
The survey was conducted between March 11 and 16, 2026, during the third week of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, using stratified sampling across 28 provinces based on Türkiye's NUTS 2 regional classification.
The sample included 1,385 people contacted through computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI), with a margin of error of 2.79% at the 95% confidence level.
The polling period coincided with rising global energy prices, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. demands that NATO allies join the war effort, and growing tensions between Washington and Ankara over the conflict.
U.S. President Trump has since called NATO a "paper tiger" and said he is "absolutely" considering pulling the U.S. out of the alliance.
Türkiye has maintained a position of non-involvement in the war while pursuing mediation alongside Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
President Erdogan has blamed Israel as the "primary" party responsible for the conflict and said Türkiye is "determined to keep away from this fire."
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