A US poll conducted before Friday’s diplomatic meltdown in an oval office between Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterparts found that after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, only 4% of Americans surveyed support Russia, but the majority of 44% said they did not support the invading country.
A CBS News/Yougov poll conducted over a three-day period starting on February 26th found that a relatively slim majority (52%) said they “personally support” Ukraine.
Support for Russia was the highest among Republicans, with the party led by Trump – at 7%. A majority of 56% of Republicans said they had no preference between the two, with 37% supporting Ukraine.
Polls found that 11% of people believe Trump’s actions and statements support Ukraine, while 46% say it is in Russia.
When asked whether Trump approved or disapproved of the way in which he was dealing with the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, 51% were approved, and 49% said he was not. The same proportion supported or opposed military aid to Ukraine.
CBS polls revealed that 30% thought Russia was “not friendly but not an ally” of the US, while 61% were considered Western European countries such as the UK, France, Italy and Germany.
However, 35% said they believe Western European countries are “not friendly, but not allies.” 3% said they were not friendly. And 1% said they considered them as enemies.
The most obvious aspect of the poll lies at the heart of the controversial oval office exchange between Trump and Zelensky when the Ukrainian president tried to persuade Trump and his cabinet.
Trump rebutted: “You don’t know that. You don’t know that. You don’t tell us what we’re trying to feel. You’re trying to solve the problem. You don’t tell us what we’re trying to feel.”
Another poll conducted using online interviews after the conflict revealed that 49% of those voted to say Trump and Vice President JD Vance had a stronger discussion about the value of diplomacy with Russia.
In a two-way poll, 62% said Zelenskyy’s comments were offensive, while 55% said Ukraine needed to negotiate the war and end it.
On Monday, the US president found Zelenksyy’s comment that the deal to end the war was “still very, very far away.”
Trump said the comments were “the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America wouldn’t hold it for much longer! …This guy doesn’t want peace as long as he has American support.”
The post from Trump said after a New York Times report on Monday, the president planned to meet with top aides to discuss the suspension or cancellation of US military aid to Ukraine.
CBS polls appeared to reflect a sense of insulation towards the Russian-Ukraine war. Voting respondents were asked what would happen between Russia and Ukraine for the benefit of the US. And 31% said it was “a lot” important. 42% said “partial.” 18% agreed that “not many.” 9% “All right”.
Senior Republicans who are not directly involved in the efforts to talk about the Russian Ukraine peace continue to denounce Putin.
That includes House Speaker Mike Johnson, who told CNN on Sunday that Putin “should not trust him, it’s dangerous,” adding that no other countries like Russia or China are “on the US side.” However, Johnson also said on NBC that Ukraine might need to “lead” after someone other than Zelensky showed no appreciation for US aid.
Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford told NBC that Putin is a “murderous KGB thug” and a “dictator” and that Zelensky “can’t trust” to honor the ceasefire agreement and that Zelensky “just worry.”
And regardless of political support for the US president, 76% said they believe Trump is making a major change in relations with the US with other countries. Of these, 31% said the relationship was better, 42% said it got worse, and 26% said it was too early to say.
However, there may be some signs of optimism in the European countries that NATO hopes to hold together through the current chaos. When asked if the US should stay in the alliance or leave, 78% said it should remain, and 22% said it should be left.
However, broader support for current US foreign policy appears to be more complicated. 16% said the US should play a leading role in the world. 67% said it should work equally with other allies. 17% say they should not be involved in global issues.
