A poll released by the Pew Research Center on Dec. 8 found that 48% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents think that the U.S. provides too much aid to Ukraine, out of a total of 31% of Americans across the political spectrum.
As with other polls gauging Americans' support for Ukraine, there was a significant partisan divide. Only 16% of Democrats thought the U.S. was providing too much aid, while 39% thought it was about right, and 24% said it was not enough.
The partisan gap was mirrored in the results about opinions on U.S. President Joe Biden's response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The total figures were roughly split, with 39% of all respondents saying they approved of the Biden administration's Ukraine policies, and 41% saying they disapprove. Among Democrats, 59% said they approved, while 62% of Republicans disapproved.
The results of the Dec. 8 poll represented slightly different findings from a Nov. 2 survey by Gallup, in which 62% of Republicans said the U.S. was doing too much to help, out of a total of 41% of Americans who thought the same.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the partisan gap has grown considerably. In the first few weeks of the invasion, Republicans were on average only about four percentage points more likely to say that the U.S. was providing too much aid, compared to December 2023, where Republicans are 32% more likely to say so.
The U.S.'s support for Ukraine has become increasingly politicized, both in the electorate and among elected officials. The Democratic party is broadly more supportive of Ukraine and more likely to vote for aid packages.
Leading Republican politicians like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell regularly make public statements declaring their support for Ukraine, but Republicans have repeatedly blocked or voted against bills containing new funding.
Nate Ostiller
