New Poll Shows Majority of US Favors More Aid to Ukraine, Tighter Russian Sanctions

May 21 ------ The vast majority of Americans, both Democratic and Republican voters, believe that the administration of US President Donald Trump and Congress should continue to provide military support for Ukraine, a new Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll survey shows. A resounding 62 percent of participants believe that the US should continue supplying weapons to Ukraine and imposing tougher sanctions on Russia. 

Breaking it down by political affiliation, about 71 percent of Democrats and 59 percent of Republican supporters were in favor in the questionnaire. Overall, 64 percent of Americans believe Ukraine should receive direct security guarantees from Trump’s administration if Kyiv agrees to make concessions to end the war with Russia. This view is shared by the majority of voters across all parties. A poll conducted in late February by the Wall Street Journal (whose editorial board is seen as right-leaning) found that 69 percent of Republican voters said Russia is the aggressor and 83 percent disapproved of Kremlin strongman Vladimir Putin. 

The numbers continued to climb in Ukraine’s favor. According to a Gallup poll in mid-March, 46 percent of Americans believed the US was not doing enough to help Ukraine, marking a 16-percent increase since the previous December. At the same time, the percentages thinking the US was doing too much (30 percent) or the right amount (23 percent) for Ukraine had shrunk. Other social media polls this month from even the furthest-right-wing factions indicated that even MAGA Republicans were evenly split on Ukraine aid, marking a shift from the days when Trump would lambaste Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “salesman”, but more recently has called out Putin as the one causing the problems. 

Trump’s approval ratings have dropped over the past couple of months as his push for reciprocal tariffs caused the stock market to lose, at one point, some 15 percent of many Americans’ savings in a matter of days. The latest Harvard/Harris poll indicated that 59 percent of voters held Trump responsible for the poor state of the American economy today. Meanwhile, 58 percent said that Trump will not solve the three-year Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Source: kyivpost.com