“Defeating the Russians in Ukraine is the single most important event going on in the world right now.” That was the pitch of United States Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in a Fox News interview when he was asked about newly released Associated Pres-NORC poll results indicating a significant decrease in support among Americans for the US government’s efforts against Russia in the Ukraine War.
McConnell’s all-in on the Ukraine War comment is increasingly out of step with public opinion in America. And his comment is particularly out of step with the opinion of his fellow Republicans. The January 26-30 poll’s re-asking of questions first asked in May of last year indicates support for US involvement in the war has declined among both Democrats and Republicans. But, among polled Republicans the support for the various queried aspects of the US involvement — imposing economic sanctions on Russia, accepting refugees from Ukraine into the United States, providing weapons to Ukraine, and sending government funds directly to Ukraine — has all along been substantially lower than among polled Democrats.
It should be remembered as well that whatever funding and actions Congress approves related to the Ukraine War will be handed over to the executive branch under President Joe Biden to administer. The poll results indicate that 43 percent of Americans have “hardly any” confidence in Biden’s ability to handle the Ukraine War, while merely 19 percent said they have “a great deal” of confidence. Among Republicans, the hardly any confidence answer jumps to 76 percent and the great deal of confidence answer plummets to near zero — just two percent.
For additional analysis of the poll results, watch the Thursday episode of the Ron Paul Liberty Report here.
The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity is a project of Dr. Paul’s Foundation for Rational Economics and Education (F.R.E.E.), founded in the 1970s as an educational organization. The Institute continues and expands Dr. Paul’s lifetime of public advocacy for a peaceful foreign policy and the protection of civil liberties at home. Visit http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org