AP-NORC poll: Most in US oppose major role in Russia strife
By NOMAAN MERCHANT and HANNAH FINGERHUT
1 of 8
The Biden administration has argued that supporting Ukraine is a defense of fundamental American values and has made a concerted effort to declassify intelligence findings underscoring the dangers it sees for Ukraine and the wider European region. But the survey shows widespread public skepticism of the U.S. intelligence community.
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to think the U.S. should have a major role in the conflict, 32% to 22%. Overall, the poll shows 43% of Americans now approve of Biden’s handling of the U.S. relationship with Russia, a downtick from 49% in June of last year.
Despite the clear reluctance about major involvement in the conflict, Americans are hardly looking at Russia through rose-colored glasses. The poll finds 53% say they’re very or extremely concerned that Russia’s influence around the world poses a threat to the U.S., an uptick from 45% in August 2021.
Jennifer Rau, a 51-year-old mother of three adopted teenagers who lives on Chicago’s South Side, said she listens to local public radio for her world news. But in recent days, when the news turns to Russia and Ukraine, she has started to turn it off.
“I’m so frustrated. It’s enough. We’re bombarded,” Rau said. “There are other stories in Chicago that need to be covered.”
Rau is a political independent who voted for Biden. But she believes the U.S. gets involved in foreign wars to make money. She is more concerned about rising crime in Chicago, the prevalence of guns, and systemic racism that affects her three children, who are Hispanic.
“I just feel like there’s a war going on in the United States, every day, in Chicago,” she said. “And it is really scary. And I feel like no one helps us.”
Edward Eller, a 67-year-old retiree from Shady Valley, Tennessee, said the White House needs to focus on lowering oil prices.
“They want to send millions of dollars of ours to stop a war that we have nothing to do with,” he said. “I’m sorry they’re involved in a mess, but it’s not our problem.”
The poll was conducted Friday to Monday during a period of rapidly escalating tensions, culminating with Putin recognizing the independence of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, widely seen in the West as a step toward a wider war. Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces have been locked since 2014 in fighting that’s killed 14,000 people.
Asked on Tuesday why people in the U.S. should have to sacrifice for the conflict, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, “This is about standing up for American values.”
“We have repeatedly throughout history been leaders in the world in rallying support for any effort to seize territory from another country,” she said.
Russia has massed at least 150,000 troops on three sides of Ukraine and continues to establish bridges, camps, and logistics necessary for a protracted invasion. U.S. officials believe Putin could attack Ukraine at any time. A full-on war in Ukraine could result in thousands of deaths and huge numbers of refugees fleeing for the U.S. or elsewhere in Europe.
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Russian banks and oligarchs with more measures possible this week.
The White House has warned in increasingly strong words about a Russian invasion while trying to persuade Putin against launching one. It has declassified Russian troop positions and detailed allegations of “false-flag” plots that could set a pretext for a military attack on Ukraine.
However, the poll shows there remains skepticism among Americans of the U.S. intelligence community. Only 23% said they had a “great deal of confidence” in intelligence agencies. Another 52% say they have some confidence and 24% have hardly any.
U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, an Illinois Democrat who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, says the intelligence he’s received on Ukraine “has been very, very good. Sadly, it’s been accurate.” But he often hears from constituents who are uninterested in Ukraine and more focused on health care and the coronavirus pandemic.
Over time, Quigley said, he has developed comments about why Ukraine matters to the U.S.: its role as a strategic ally and a “sovereign democratic nation at Putin’s doorstep,” and how a new war could hit already disrupted technology supply chains that use exports from Russia and Ukraine.
Among Russia’s biggest threats to Americans is its capability to wage cyberwarfare. Previous Russia-linked cyberattacks have cut off services at hospitals and breached the servers of American government agencies. A ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline linked to a Russia-based hacking group temporarily shut down gas stations across the East Coast. And Russia was accused of interfering in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
“I think it’s an incredibly difficult time to message because of everything else that’s topping the list of what Americans care about. It’s hard to bump COVID, inflation, safety issues away,” Quigley said. “But you’ve got to try.”
___
The AP-NORC poll of 1,289 adults was conducted Feb. 18-21 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
___
Associated Press journalist Zeke J. Miller contributed to this report.
Broad majority of Americans support Russia sanctions - pollBy NOMAAN MERCHANT and HANNAH FINGERHUT
1 of 8
FILE = This image provided by The White House via Twitter shows President Joe Biden at Camp David, Md., Feb. 12, 2022. A new poll finds little support among Americans for a major U.S. role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. President Joe Biden has acknowledged the growing likelihood of a new war in Eastern Europe will affect Americans even if U.S. troops don’t deploy to Ukraine. Just 26% of Americans say the U.S. should have a major role in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
(The White House via AP, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — There’s little support among Americans for a major U.S. role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to a new poll, even as President Joe Biden imposes new sanctions and threatens a stronger response that could provoke retaliation from Moscow.
Biden has acknowledged a growing likelihood that war in Eastern Europe would affect Americans, though he has ruled out sending troops to Ukraine. Gas prices in the U.S. could rise in the short term. And Russian President Vladimir Putin has a range of tools he could use against the U.S., including cyberattacks hitting critical infrastructure and industries.
“Defending freedom will have costs for us as well, here at home,” Biden said Tuesday. “We need to be honest about that.”
Just 26% say the U.S. should have a major role in the conflict, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Fifty-two percent say a minor role; 20% say none at all.
The findings are a reminder for Biden and fellow Democrats that while the crisis may consume Washington in the coming months, pocketbook issues are likely to be a bigger priority for voters heading into the midterm elections. A December AP-NORC poll showed that Americans are particularly focused on economic issues, including rising inflation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — There’s little support among Americans for a major U.S. role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to a new poll, even as President Joe Biden imposes new sanctions and threatens a stronger response that could provoke retaliation from Moscow.
Biden has acknowledged a growing likelihood that war in Eastern Europe would affect Americans, though he has ruled out sending troops to Ukraine. Gas prices in the U.S. could rise in the short term. And Russian President Vladimir Putin has a range of tools he could use against the U.S., including cyberattacks hitting critical infrastructure and industries.
“Defending freedom will have costs for us as well, here at home,” Biden said Tuesday. “We need to be honest about that.”
Just 26% say the U.S. should have a major role in the conflict, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Fifty-two percent say a minor role; 20% say none at all.
The findings are a reminder for Biden and fellow Democrats that while the crisis may consume Washington in the coming months, pocketbook issues are likely to be a bigger priority for voters heading into the midterm elections. A December AP-NORC poll showed that Americans are particularly focused on economic issues, including rising inflation.
The Biden administration has argued that supporting Ukraine is a defense of fundamental American values and has made a concerted effort to declassify intelligence findings underscoring the dangers it sees for Ukraine and the wider European region. But the survey shows widespread public skepticism of the U.S. intelligence community.
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to think the U.S. should have a major role in the conflict, 32% to 22%. Overall, the poll shows 43% of Americans now approve of Biden’s handling of the U.S. relationship with Russia, a downtick from 49% in June of last year.
Despite the clear reluctance about major involvement in the conflict, Americans are hardly looking at Russia through rose-colored glasses. The poll finds 53% say they’re very or extremely concerned that Russia’s influence around the world poses a threat to the U.S., an uptick from 45% in August 2021.
Jennifer Rau, a 51-year-old mother of three adopted teenagers who lives on Chicago’s South Side, said she listens to local public radio for her world news. But in recent days, when the news turns to Russia and Ukraine, she has started to turn it off.
“I’m so frustrated. It’s enough. We’re bombarded,” Rau said. “There are other stories in Chicago that need to be covered.”
Rau is a political independent who voted for Biden. But she believes the U.S. gets involved in foreign wars to make money. She is more concerned about rising crime in Chicago, the prevalence of guns, and systemic racism that affects her three children, who are Hispanic.
“I just feel like there’s a war going on in the United States, every day, in Chicago,” she said. “And it is really scary. And I feel like no one helps us.”
Edward Eller, a 67-year-old retiree from Shady Valley, Tennessee, said the White House needs to focus on lowering oil prices.
“They want to send millions of dollars of ours to stop a war that we have nothing to do with,” he said. “I’m sorry they’re involved in a mess, but it’s not our problem.”
The poll was conducted Friday to Monday during a period of rapidly escalating tensions, culminating with Putin recognizing the independence of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, widely seen in the West as a step toward a wider war. Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces have been locked since 2014 in fighting that’s killed 14,000 people.
Asked on Tuesday why people in the U.S. should have to sacrifice for the conflict, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, “This is about standing up for American values.”
“We have repeatedly throughout history been leaders in the world in rallying support for any effort to seize territory from another country,” she said.
Russia has massed at least 150,000 troops on three sides of Ukraine and continues to establish bridges, camps, and logistics necessary for a protracted invasion. U.S. officials believe Putin could attack Ukraine at any time. A full-on war in Ukraine could result in thousands of deaths and huge numbers of refugees fleeing for the U.S. or elsewhere in Europe.
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Russian banks and oligarchs with more measures possible this week.
The White House has warned in increasingly strong words about a Russian invasion while trying to persuade Putin against launching one. It has declassified Russian troop positions and detailed allegations of “false-flag” plots that could set a pretext for a military attack on Ukraine.
However, the poll shows there remains skepticism among Americans of the U.S. intelligence community. Only 23% said they had a “great deal of confidence” in intelligence agencies. Another 52% say they have some confidence and 24% have hardly any.
U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, an Illinois Democrat who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, says the intelligence he’s received on Ukraine “has been very, very good. Sadly, it’s been accurate.” But he often hears from constituents who are uninterested in Ukraine and more focused on health care and the coronavirus pandemic.
Over time, Quigley said, he has developed comments about why Ukraine matters to the U.S.: its role as a strategic ally and a “sovereign democratic nation at Putin’s doorstep,” and how a new war could hit already disrupted technology supply chains that use exports from Russia and Ukraine.
Among Russia’s biggest threats to Americans is its capability to wage cyberwarfare. Previous Russia-linked cyberattacks have cut off services at hospitals and breached the servers of American government agencies. A ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline linked to a Russia-based hacking group temporarily shut down gas stations across the East Coast. And Russia was accused of interfering in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
“I think it’s an incredibly difficult time to message because of everything else that’s topping the list of what Americans care about. It’s hard to bump COVID, inflation, safety issues away,” Quigley said. “But you’ve got to try.”
___
The AP-NORC poll of 1,289 adults was conducted Feb. 18-21 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
___
Associated Press journalist Zeke J. Miller contributed to this report.
The Russian Embassy, as President Biden announces new sanctions on Russia, in Washington
Wed, February 23, 2022
By Jason Lange
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than two-thirds of Americans think the United States should impose additional sanctions against Russia as it masses its forces along the border with Ukraine, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Wednesday.
Nearly half of respondents to the poll disapproved of President Joe Biden's handling of the crisis, in keeping with his low overall job approval ratings, with 48% saying Ukraine's problems are not America's business.
Biden has vowed Russia will pay a steep price for launching an invasion of Ukraine but he has pledged to keep U.S. troops out of the conflict.
The poll, conducted online on Tuesday and Wednesday, found some 69% of Americans - majorities of Republicans and Democrats - support additional sanctions on Russia.
The president on Tuesday toughened measures against Russian companies and individuals, effectively kicking two Russian banks out of the U.S. banking system
The poll found 62% oppose sending U.S. troops to defend Ukraine against a Russian invasion, with opposition strongest among Republicans. A majority also opposed air strikes.
Republican lawmakers, who are seeking to win control of the U.S. Congress in the Nov. 8 midterm election, have criticized Biden's response to Russian President Vladimir Putin as too little, too late.
The poll found that just 12% of Republicans approved of Biden's handling of the crisis, compared with 58% of Democrats.
Still, relatively few Americans blame Biden for the crisis.
According to the poll, about half the country, including a majority of Democrats and nearly half of Republicans, blame Putin, who on Tuesday ordered Russian troops to enter Ukrainian territory claimed by ethnic Russian separatists. Only 25% of Republicans polled said Biden was to blame.
Despite broad support for sanctions, only about half of Americans said sanctions were worthwhile if they increased fuel and gas prices, according to the poll. Russia is a major oil and natural gas producer and worries over the conflict have pushed prices for some oil contracts to their highest levels since 2014.
The poll was conducted online and in English throughout the United States. It gathered responses from 1,004 adults including 420 Democrats, 394 Republicans and 131 independents. The results have a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of 4 percentage points.
(Reporting by Jason Lange, additional reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone and Cynthia Osterman)
The parts of America paying closest attention to the Russia-Ukraine crisis
Stef W. Kight
Tue, February 22, 2022
Data: Google Trends; Chart: Will Chase/Axios
Russia's talk of invading Ukraine has now captured America's attention, although residents in some congressional districts are paying closer attention than others, according to new Google Trends data and analysis.
Why it matters: Some Republicans criticized President Biden on Tuesday for not taking stronger actions. Some Democrats have largely supported his focus on diplomacy. It's unclear how much the issue will affect the midterms in November — but right now, interest among potential voters is growing.
The districts visualized in the accompanying map reflect congressional maps in effect as of Feb. 1. Some of the lines will change as the once-per-decade redistricting process continues this year across the country.
Google measures search interest on a scale of 0-100, which reflects the percentage of total Google searches dedicated to a topic.
By the numbers: Nationwide, searches for the "MOEX Russia Index" increased +4,900% in the past day, and use of the terms “russia ukraine news latest update” increased +1,750% over the past week, Google Trends' Simon Rogers notes in his Tuesday newsletter.
Congressional districts encompassing Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Buffalo, New York, saw high interest in the search term "Russia" earlier than most other districts.
During the past week, "Russia" made up the greatest percentage of Google searches in the newly drawn district for Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), whose territory includes Monterey, California.
The Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, as well as other military bases and communities in other high-ranking areas could explain the interest in some districts.
The districts with the highest percentage of Google searches for "Russia" in the past week were:
CA-19: Jimmy Panetta (D)
CO-05: Doug Lamborn (R)
NY-26: Brian Higgins (D)
CA-51: Sara Jacobs (D)
MA-03: Lori Trahan (D)
AZ-02: Tom O'Halleran (D)
CT-04: Jim Himes (D)
WA-10: Marilyn Strickland (D)
VA-11: Gerry Connolly (D)
CA-49: Mike Levin (D)
What to watch: Axios and Google Trends have been looking at congressional-level Google search trends across the country.
Keep an eye out for future projects in the coming months.
More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets.
Stef W. Kight
Tue, February 22, 2022
Data: Google Trends; Chart: Will Chase/Axios
Russia's talk of invading Ukraine has now captured America's attention, although residents in some congressional districts are paying closer attention than others, according to new Google Trends data and analysis.
Why it matters: Some Republicans criticized President Biden on Tuesday for not taking stronger actions. Some Democrats have largely supported his focus on diplomacy. It's unclear how much the issue will affect the midterms in November — but right now, interest among potential voters is growing.
The districts visualized in the accompanying map reflect congressional maps in effect as of Feb. 1. Some of the lines will change as the once-per-decade redistricting process continues this year across the country.
Google measures search interest on a scale of 0-100, which reflects the percentage of total Google searches dedicated to a topic.
By the numbers: Nationwide, searches for the "MOEX Russia Index" increased +4,900% in the past day, and use of the terms “russia ukraine news latest update” increased +1,750% over the past week, Google Trends' Simon Rogers notes in his Tuesday newsletter.
Congressional districts encompassing Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Buffalo, New York, saw high interest in the search term "Russia" earlier than most other districts.
During the past week, "Russia" made up the greatest percentage of Google searches in the newly drawn district for Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), whose territory includes Monterey, California.
The Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, as well as other military bases and communities in other high-ranking areas could explain the interest in some districts.
The districts with the highest percentage of Google searches for "Russia" in the past week were:
CA-19: Jimmy Panetta (D)
CO-05: Doug Lamborn (R)
NY-26: Brian Higgins (D)
CA-51: Sara Jacobs (D)
MA-03: Lori Trahan (D)
AZ-02: Tom O'Halleran (D)
CT-04: Jim Himes (D)
WA-10: Marilyn Strickland (D)
VA-11: Gerry Connolly (D)
CA-49: Mike Levin (D)
What to watch: Axios and Google Trends have been looking at congressional-level Google search trends across the country.
Keep an eye out for future projects in the coming months.
More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets.
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