The American public’s support for the war in Ukraine is declining and a majority of adults say that U.S. financial aid to Kyiv should come with a time limit, according to a new poll by Gallup.
According to Gallup, 61 percent of U.S. adults said there “should be a time limit” on American aid to Ukraine, compared to 37 percent who said the U.S. should continue its support “as long as Ukraine requests it.” The response largely broke down along party lines, with 84 percent of Republicans supporting a time limit to Ukraine aid. But 34 percent of Democrats said they also support placing a time limit on U.S. aid.
A plurality of Americans, 41 percent, said they believe the United States is doing “too much” to help Ukraine expel Russia from its borders, the Gallup survey found. That is a sharp increase from 29 percent of adults who felt the same way in June and 24 percent who shared the view in August, 2022, six months after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Opposition to the Ukraine war is especially strong among Republicans and independents, the poll found. Among Republicans, 62 percent now say the U.S. is doing too much for Ukraine, a roughly 20-point increase from August, 2022.
Nearly half of all independents feel the same way, compared to just 14 percent of Democrats who say America is doing too much to aid Kyiv.
The numbers underscore a political challenge for President Biden, who is pressing Congress to continue providing military assistance to Ukraine and approve additional funding to aid Israel in its war with Hamas.
In an Oval Office address last month, Biden asked Congress to approve $106 billion in funding for Ukraine, Israel and U.S. border security. Biden argued that helping America’s allies was a vital U.S. national security concern.
The additional aid to Ukraine would allow the U.S. to send Kyiv “weapons they need to defend themselves and their country without interruption,” Biden said at the time. With support from its allies, Ukraine has regained control of 50 percent of the territory that Russia seized at the start of the war, Biden added.
“What would happen if we walked away?” Biden asked.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Democrats in Congress have sided with Biden on Ukraine, but his argument has failed to sway conservative lawmakers including newly-elected House Speaker Mike Johnson. The Louisiana Republican has called for a separate assistance package for Israel, in a move that could delay additional aid to Kyiv.
In another troubling sign for Biden as he seeks to rally public support for Ukraine, 64 percent of Americans said that neither Ukraine or Russia were winning the war. The sentiment cut across party lines, with 66 percent of Republicans and 60 percent of Democrats saying that neither side was winning the war.
The Gallup survey of 2,007 adults was conducted Oct. 4-16 and had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.