Many Americans still question whether US President Joe Biden is showing enough strength in response to Russia's war against Ukraine, even as most approve of steps the US is already taking and few want US troops to get involved in the conflict.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
A poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows 54% of Americans think Biden has been "not tough enough" in his response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, 36% think his approach has been about right, while 8% say he's been too tough.
But as the war has dragged on, Americans' desire to get involved has waned somewhat. Only 32% of Americans say the US should have a major role in the conflict. That's ticked back down from 40% last month, though that remains slightly higher than the 26% who said so in February. An additional 49% say the US should have a minor role.
The results underscore the conundrum for the White House. As images of Russian attacks on civilians and hospitals are shared around the world, there is pressure to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin and help millions of Ukrainians under attack in their home country or fleeing for safety. But Biden must also manage the threat of escalation with Putin, who has raised the alert level on using Russia's nuclear weapons, and prevent the US from getting involved in a much larger conflict.
"Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they've faced so far militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons," CIA Director William Burns said in a recent speech at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Burns added that "so far we haven't seen a lot of practical evidence" of Russian nuclear escalation.
The White House has authorized more than $2 billion in weapons and led Western sanctions that have crushed the Russian economy. Biden has ruled out sending US troops – a decision supported by a majority of Americans.
The US has also held back some weapons and defensive systems sought by Ukraine and placed early limits on intelligence sharing that have been loosened throughout the conflict.
The poll and follow-up interviews with respondents indicate many Americans, responding to images of Ukrainians being killed and Russian forces allegedly committing war crimes, want to see more action to stop Putin. A majority – 57% -- say they believe Putin has directed his troops to commit war crimes. Just 6% say he has not, while 36% say they aren't sure.
Most Americans are in favor of the US sanctioning Russia for the invasion, providing weapons to Ukraine and accepting refugees from Ukraine into the US. More Americans also support than oppose deploying US troops to Eastern Europe to support US NATO allies in response to Russia's invasion, and about two-thirds say NATO membership is good for the US.
But public support stops short of deploying US troops to Ukraine to fight against Russian forces. Only 22% say they favor deploying US troops to Ukraine to fight against Russian forces, while 55% are opposed; 23% say they are neither in favor nor opposed.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
Biden faces other significant political challenges heading into the midterms with inflation at a four-decade high and soaring energy prices exacerbated by the war. The poll suggests the balance in the tradeoff between sanctions on Russia and the US economy might be shifting. By a narrow margin, Americans say the nation's bigger priority is sanctioning Russia as effectively as possible over limiting damage to the US economy, 51% to 45%. Last month, more said they prioritized sanctioning Russia over limiting damage to the economy, 55% to 42%.
Anthony Cordesman, emeritus chair in strategy at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, noted that Americans broadly support many actions the White House is already taking. Building up Ukraine's air defense or sending more tanks and airplanes also requires setting up logistics, including radar and maintenance capabilities, that take far longer than many people would expect, Cordesman said.
The White House making that case to people who want more action carries its own risk.
"If you start communicating the limits to what we can do in detail, you may or may not reassure the American people, but you're providing Russia with a lot of information that you scarcely want to communicate," Cordesman said.
The AP-NORC poll of 1,085 adults was conducted April 14-18 using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the US population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
