A majority of American voters say that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have invaded Ukraine had former President Trump still been in office, according to a new survey released on Friday.
A new Harvard Center for American Political Studies (CAPS)-Harris Poll survey released Friday found that 62 percent of those polled believed Putin would not be moving against Ukraine if Trump had been president. When looking strictly at the answers of Democrats and Republicans, 85 percent of Republicans and 38 percent of Democrats answered this way.
Meanwhile, according to The Hill, 59 percent of Americans believe Biden’s perceived weakness led Putin to execute the bold attack in the first place.
Regardless of party affiliation, though, a total of 38% of Americans say Putin would have invaded Ukraine regardless of who was president.
Another 41% felt the person in power had no influence on Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.
While President Biden has voiced solidarity with Ukraine and sharply denounced the Kremlin for the ‘unprovoked and unjustified attack,’ the US has so far only imposed penalties on Russian financial institutions, Russian officials, and their families.
The White House announced $350 million in military aid to Ukraine on Friday night. It has offered to evacuate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is being pursued by Putin’s assassination squads, but he has stated that he will remain in Kyiv and fight on.
Putin is among individuals sanctioned by the US, according to the White House.
Despite calls from Ukrainian authorities and some US politicians, Biden has refused to make an overt call to expel Russia from the SWIFT international financial system.
The poll results come as Biden’s approval ratings remain low, despite the fact that he has faced several other major challenges as a newly-elected president, including a disorderly withdrawal of US soldiers from Afghanistan and the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
A total of 2,026 registered voters took part in the poll, which was conducted on February 23 and 24.
The poll, however, is weighted to reflect a known percentage of the population.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
