WASHINGTON, D.C. — When asked to choose from a list of groups they associate most and least with courage, majorities of Americans select first responders as exhibiting the most courage and elected leaders in the U.S. government as exhibiting the least. Still, majorities of U.S. adults say they have seen elected leaders take part in actions that they consider to be courageous.
These findings are based on a nationally representative survey of more than 3,000 U.S. adults who are members of Gallup’s probability-based panel, with interviews conducted May 12-22, 2026.
Americans Most Associate First Responders and Military Personnel With Courage
When asked to select three groups out of 16 that they most associate with courage, defined as "deciding to do what's right in the face of personal cost," 60% of U.S. adults chose first responders — defined as firefighters, police officers and other emergency personnel — as most courageous. Military personnel (41%) and nurses (27%) are the next most frequently chosen groups.
Business leaders (2%), athletes (2%), social media influencers (4%) and elected government leaders (4%) were chosen least often as the most courageous groups.
In a separate question asking which three groups they associate least with courage, 54% chose elected leaders in the U.S. government and 48% chose social media influencers. Business leaders rank a distant third at 27%, followed by journalists (24%) and teenagers in America today (23%).
Majorities of Republicans (72%), Democrats (53%) and independents (58%) selected first responders among the groups they associate most with courage. First responders are most frequently chosen among each of the political party subgroups.
Certain groups are much more likely to be seen as courageous by some partisans than others. Specifically:
- Sixty-seven percent of Republicans selected military personnel among the top three groups they associate most with courage, compared with 37% of independents and 24% of Democrats.
- Republicans were also more likely to select faith leaders (at 31%, compared with 13% of independents and 9% of Democrats).
- Democrats (33%) were more likely than independents (22%) and especially Republicans (3%) to select journalists among the groups they associate most with courage.
- Democrats were also more likely to choose scientists (at 26%, compared with 15% of independents and 2% of Republicans), teachers (32% vs. 22% and 10%, respectively), and community or nonprofit leaders (19% vs. 14% and 6%).
Americans View Speaking Up and Standing Firm as Courageous Acts
When asked how much courage eight different actions require, majorities of Americans (74% to 89%) say all of them require at least “some” courage, but some actions stand out as requiring a lot or an extraordinary amount of courage.
Americans are most likely to say that refusing to go along with something they believe is wrong, even at personal cost (65%), and standing by a decision they believe is right despite personal attacks (64%) require a lot or an extraordinary amount of courage. Majorities also say it takes substantial courage to tell leaders in one's own group that they are wrong (57%) or to speak up when someone is being treated unfairly (55%).
At the lower end, just 38% of Americans say publicly supporting a political leader they usually disagree with after that leader does something they believe is right requires a lot or an extraordinary amount of courage.
Majorities Report Seeing Leaders Take Courageous Stands
Though few Americans rank elected leaders among the groups they most associate with courage, many recall examples from the past year when individual public officials have shown courage.
Seventy percent of Americans say they have seen an elected leader stand by a decision they made despite personal attacks, while majorities have seen a leader publicly disagree with their own side (64%), tell someone in their own party's leadership that they are wrong (59%), or speak up about unfair treatment (57%).
Fewer report witnessing leaders reaching out to someone they strongly disagree with to find common ground (43%), publicly supporting a leader they typically disagree with (42%), or admitting they were wrong (29%).
Some of the actions that many Americans see as requiring the highest levels of courage are also among the acts of courage that many Americans report witnessing most from elected leaders. For example, 64% of Americans say standing by a decision they believe is right despite personal attacks requires a lot of or extraordinary courage, and 70% report seeing or hearing about an elected official doing so. Likewise, 57% say telling leaders in one's own party or group that they are wrong requires a high degree of courage, and 59% have seen or heard of an elected official taking that action.
At the same time, some behaviors that fewer Americans view as requiring a lot of or extraordinary courage are also among those reported less often from elected officials. These include publicly supporting a political leader they usually disagree with (38%), reaching out to someone they strongly disagree with to find common ground (46%), and admitting they were wrong about something important (46%).
This suggests that public visibility, political incentives, and leaders' choices about where to focus their efforts may influence which acts are recognized by the public, independently of the amount of courage they are perceived to require.
Democrats and Republicans generally report similar rates of seeing or hearing about acts of courage by elected leaders. One exception is publicly supporting a political leader with whom they typically disagree: Half of Republicans (50%) say they have seen or heard about this behavior, compared with 39% of Democrats and 40% of independents.
Across most measures, independents are somewhat less likely than Democrats and Republicans to report seeing or hearing about acts of courage by elected leaders. For example, 62% of Democrats and 64% of Republicans say they have seen or heard a leader tell someone in their own party's leadership that they were wrong in the past 12 months, compared with 55% of independents.
Forty-five percent of Americans report having seen a leader they generally disagree with stand up for what they believe is right in the past year, with little variation across political and demographic groups.
Bottom Line
When Americans think about courageous groups of people in the United States, they generally think of first responders, military personnel, and nurses. Elected officials rank relatively low when people are asked whom they associate with courage.
Still, many Americans report witnessing politicians engage in behaviors widely considered to be courageous. This suggests that skepticism toward politicians does not necessarily prevent people from recognizing courage when they see it, a noteworthy finding given that 79% of Americans say courageous behavior among elected leaders is very important for the nation's future.
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