From Shibley Telhami
It’s my pleasure to share with you some findings from the latest round of our University of Maryland Critical Issues Poll probing American public attitudes toward Russia and Ukraine, conducted March 7-9, after the public White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The poll included some tracking questions to compare attitudes now with those during the Biden administration last summer, as well as new ones, especially about the White House public spat. Here are some of the notable findings:
- The Trump-Zelenskyy meeting failed to make a dent in the strong American public sympathy with Ukraine, which remained at roughly the same level as it was last summer, with 59% of respondents saying they supported Ukraine more, compared to 2% who said they supported Russia more.
- Only about a third (35%) of Americans said they supported Trump’s decision to suspend aid for Ukraine, while 48% opposed it and 17% said they didn’t know. Among those who didn’t support the suspension (roughly two-thirds of all respondents), 62% said the US should support Ukraine for “as long as it takes.”
- Respondents rated Trump’s behavior during the public White House meeting as more inappropriate than appropriate, while they rated Zelenskyy’s behavior as more appropriate than inappropriate.
- Americans ranked both Trump and Zelenskyy as being more ineffective than effective in advancing the interests of their respective countries.
- More Americans said that the public White House meeting made them more sympathetic to Ukraine, 31%, than less sympathetic,19%.
You can find an article analyzing the results with more details here, and the questionnaire here. My conclusion is that “the American public appears to have made up its mind on Ukraine and Russia and that Trump is cutting against the grain.”
Sincerely,
Shibley Telhami