Russia-Ukraine Revisited
Our research team, like much of the world, has been paying close attention to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in the months following Russia’s invasion. Prior to the start of the war, we’ve been tracking Americans’ sentiments and opinions on the conflict. In the months following the invasion and in these latest data fielded July 25 - August 1, we’ve seen a steady decline in focus on the situation that looms in Russia and Ukraine as Americans devote their attention to record-high inflation and abortion.
But first, as always, here’s a quick recap of our data in the news and on our blog:
Unemployment rate hits a 50-year low: The job market is booming and our latest NYT|Momentive Consumer Confidence Index confirms it: 52% say now is a good time to look for a new job. Read the full story in The New York Times or check out the blog post.
Main Street says the recession is already here: 57% of small business owners say were already in a recession according to the latest CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Confidence Index. Read some of the coverage on CNBC or check out the blog post.
Majority of Americans keep a close eye on Ukraine, but attention drops over time
Six in 10 (61%) Americans are following the conflict in Ukraine either “somewhat” or “very” closely – a sharp decline since March when the vast majority of Americans (77%) kept a close eye on the conflict.
A recent Gallup poll also shows focus shifting away from the conflict: just 1% of Americans mention the situation with Russia as the major problem facing the U.S., down from 9% in March following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Democrats and Republicans follow at near equal rates: 69% of Democrats along with 63% of Republicans are following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a trend that began to diverge slightly in recent months but still remains virtually unchanged since the start of the war.
Americans remain split on U.S. troop involvement
Just less than half of Americans (46%) support the involvement of U.S. troops in Ukraine, unwavering since the early days of the war (46% supported troop involvement following Russia’s invasion in late February), but a slight shift from March, April and May when Americans were split on whether or not to involve U.S. troops in Ukraine. Still, support for U.S. troop involvement is up 3 points from the days leading up to the invasion in January (43%).
Support for troop involvement remains highest among Democrats: 56% of Democrats support the involvement of U.S. troops in Ukraine compared with 39% of Republicans and 43% of Independents.
Younger adults, too, remain keen on involving U.S. troops: nearly half (49%) of adults aged 18-34 support the involvement of U.S. troops in Ukraine – the highest of any age group (46% of those 35-64 and 43% of 65+ say the same). Yet, prior to Russia’s invasion, support for U.S. troop involvement was most popular among older adults: in January, 48% of those 65+ supported U.S. troop involvement while just 43% of those 35-64 and 40% of those 18-34.
Biden receives low marks on his handling of Russia-Ukraine
Over half of Americans (53%) disapprove of the way President Biden has handled the situation with Russia and Ukraine – a number that has increased steadily since the start of the war. Nearly 3 in 10 (29%) strongly disapprove of Biden’s handling of the situation.
Those who have been closely following the conflict have higher marks for President Biden’s handling: 60% of those who have followed the Russia-Ukraine conflict “very closely” approve of the way President Biden is handling the situation, far higher than those who are following the conflict “somewhat closely” (48%), “not too closely” (37%), or “not closely at all” (21%).
Despite low approval ratings, Americans are slightly more likely to approve of how Biden has handled the Russia-Ukraine conflict than his job as president. Just 41% approve of the way Biden’s handling his job as president, a number that has decreased steadily since the start of his term to a new all-time low – consistently hovering below his approval rating for his handling of the situation between Russia and Ukraine (44% in these latest data).
That’s all for this week! Thanks as always for reading.