A majority of Republicans and Trump voters remain significantly less supportive of foreign intervention indicating the neoconservative wing of the GOP is substantially less powerful than it once was.
Early Thursday, Russia attacked Ukraine in a culmination of months of military build-up to keep the neighboring country from joining NATO. The invasion has broad implications for European politics and the ongoing tensions between Russia and Democratic nations and will likely impact energy prices and supply chains.
While President Joe Biden firmly stated he won’t deploy American troops to Ukraine, neocons are coming out of the woodwork, hoping the relatively recent America First non-intervention arm of the GOP can be reabsorbed by a neo-conservative political agenda.
Neocons are coming out of the woodwork, hoping the relatively recent America First non-intervention arm of the GOP can be reabsorbed by a neo-conservative political agenda.
Senator Lindsey Graham has called for “Congress to unite to punish and crush Putin and his cronies” with a two-pronged approach that includes the U.S. continuing to provide Ukraine with defensive weapons and military aid and a call on Congress to create a task force to “aggressively pursue Putin and his inner circle”.
Without explicitly calling for military action or leaving it off the table, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy stated, “Putin’s actions must be met with serious consequence”, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking Republican Jim Risch of Idaho said, “the repercussions of this invasion will be painful and swift.”
What is clear is that the American people do not want to become entangled in war with Russia, and do not support sending American troops or military aid to the Ukraine.
Polling taken over the weekend shows that while 57% of Americans correctly guessed that Russia would invade Ukraine this week, less than half (45%) say the U.S. should provide financial aid to Ukraine and even less (41%) say the U.S. should send military aid. Less than a third of Americans (31%) say the U.S. should send troops to Ukraine.
Less than a third of Americans (31%) say the U.S. should send troops to Ukraine.
However, views vary broadly based on demographics. While 45% of Americans say sending financial aid to the Ukraine is a good idea, Biden voters, Democrats and urbanites are much keener on the idea. Sixty-one percent of Biden voters want to send financial aid to Ukraine, compared to 40% of Trump voters, and 56% of Democrats want to send aid to Ukraine, compared to 46% of Republicans.
Sixty-one percent of Biden voters want to send financial aid to Ukraine, compared to 40% of Trump voters.
Independents are the least likely to want to send financial assistance to Ukraine (42%). Forty-nine percent of urbanites and 48% of suburbanites want the U.S. to send financial aid to Ukraine, compared to 39% of rural Americans.
Less than half of Americans (41%) want to send military aid to Ukraine, but these views also vary widely by demographics. Here, Biden voters again are more supportive of sending military aid than Trump voters, with 51% of Biden voters supporting sending military aid to Ukraine compared to 44% of Trump voters. Less than half of voters in all three political groups (Democrat, Republican, and Independent) support sending military aid to Ukraine.
Biden voters again are more supportive of sending military aid than Trump voters, with 51% of Biden voters supporting sending military aid to Ukraine compared to 44% of Trump voters.
There is also a substantial age gap among those who support providing Ukraine with military aid, with just 30% of voters under thirty saying this is a good idea, compared to 55% of votes over 65.
Education level also creates a stark division with regard to sending military aid to Ukraine, with two-thirds (66%) of White men with college degrees favoring this, compared to just 46% of White men without college degrees. White women are much less supportive of the U.S. sending military aid to Ukraine, with only 39% of college-educated White women supporting this, and 30% of non-college educated White women doing so.
Just 31% of Americans support sending U.S. soldiers to Ukraine, even if they will not be directly fighting Russian soldiers. Majorities of all political categories oppose sending troops to Ukraine, but Democrats are much more supportive of this option than Republicans and Independents. Forty percent of Democrats say it would be a good idea to send U.S. troops to “help” in Ukraine, compared to just 27% of Republicans and 28% of Independents. Similarly, 41% of Biden voters think sending troops to Ukraine would be a good idea compared to just 26% of Trump voters.
Forty percent of Democrats say it would be a good idea to send U.S. troops to “help” in Ukraine, compared to just 27% of Republicans and 28% of Independents.
While neocons are eyeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a possible opportunity to reinsert themselves into foreign conflicts, a strong majority of Americans oppose sending U.S. troops, military aid, and financial aid to Ukraine. A majority of Republicans and Trump voters remain significantly less supportive of foreign intervention compared to Democrats and Biden voters, indicating the neoconservative wing of the GOP is substantially less powerful than it once was.
