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NEW POLL: Americans wary of more intervention in Ukraine, more security commitments in Middle East

By Concerned Veterans for America

Americans prioritize domestic issues, want less military engagement around the world

 

ARLINGTON, Va.—In conjunction with YouGov, Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) on Friday released the results of a new poll of the American public. The poll gauged opinions on the Biden Administration’s handling of foreign policy, including the war in Ukraine, and its use of the United States military. By and large, Americans signaled opposition to American troops engaging in direct combat in the war in Ukraine and would rather the Biden administration prioritize domestic issues over ensuring a complete defeat of Russia. Additionally, a strong majority of Americans opposed deploying more troops to the Middle East and making new security commitments to autocratic Persian Gulf regimes.

Dan Caldwell, CVA’s Senior Advisor, had this to say about the findings:

“With historic economic challenges at home, it’s not surprising that the American people are wary of taking on new security commitments abroad and starting a war with a nuclear-armed Russia. As President Biden returns from the NATO summit in Madrid and heads to the Middle East next month, he should note that the American people would rather he focus his attention on issues here at home that are directly connected to the well-being of the American people.”

 

KEY FINDINGS

The poll found Americans in large part disagree with Biden’s approach to foreign policy issues:

  • 44% had an unfavorable opinion of Biden’s handling of the war in Ukraine (roughly a third had a favorable opinion).
  • Only about a quarter of the American public support directly involving the U.S. military in the Russia-Ukraine war, with almost twice as many people opposing.
  • Notably, when compared to a similar poll conducted in February, American sentiment on going to war with Russia has remained unchanged (roughly half opposed, less than a quarter supported).

Generally, Americans would like to see the country less militarily engaged in the world overall:

  • A plurality of respondents saying our military footprint should be reduced (40%), and roughly a third think it should stay about the same (31%). Conversely, only 12% would like to see our military engagement increase.
  • Additionally, a solid majority (52%) would oppose sending more troops to the Middle East (only 17% would support such a move).

 

SEE THE FULL RESULTS OF THE POLL HERE

 

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

Data was gathered by YouGov between June 23 – June 29, 2022. YouGov interviewed 1,055 respondents who were then matched down to a sample of 1,000 to produce the final dataset. The respondents were matched to a sampling frame on gender, age, race, and education. The frame was constructed by stratified sampling from the full 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year sample with selection within strata by weighted sampling with replacements (using the person weights on the public use file).

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