FDR wanted to get involved, but he knew that the American public didn’t want to go to war. There was a lot happening before the war like the Lend-Lease Act where the USA was funding Allied war efforts while officially remaining neutral. Having a burning naval base in Hawaii and an official declaration of war from Germany and Italy gave FDR a wide berth public opinion wise to prosecute the war the way he wanted to.
Also, while there was a “Europe first” policy, the USA was active in the Pacific Front soon after the attack as the USA had to respond to further Japanese invasions including the Philippines, which was still American controlled. The USA was able to turn the tide on Japan and push Japan back to the home islands while still dedicating the majority of its war effort to Germany. The only time when the USA needed to significantly pull resources to the Pacific Front from Europe was for the planned invasion of Japan.
FDR wanted to get involved, but he knew that the American public didn’t want to go to war. There was a lot happening before the war like the Lend-Lease Act where the USA was funding Allied war efforts while officially remaining neutral. Having a burning naval base in Hawaii and an official declaration of war from Germany and Italy gave FDR a wide berth public opinion wise to prosecute the war the way he wanted to.
Also, while there was a “Europe first” policy, the USA was active in the Pacific Front soon after the attack as the USA had to respond to further Japanese invasions including the Philippines, which was still American controlled. The USA was able to turn the tide on Japan and push Japan back to the home islands while still dedicating the majority of its war effort to Germany. The only time when the USA needed to significantly pull resources to the Pacific Front from Europe was for the planned invasion of Japan.