Key findings
- A slim majority of Americans oppose the involvement of U.S. troops if Russia invades Ukraine, with Republicans and Democrats equally likely to oppose U.S. involvement
- Almost 7 in 10 (69%) Americans say things in the country are headed in the wrong direction, roughly on par with the 72% who said the same in a recent NBC poll
- President Biden’s approval rating is underwater, with 45% approving and 53% disapproving of the job he is doing
A slim majority of Americans (52%) say they would oppose the involvement of U.S. troops if Russia invades Ukraine, while 43% would support U.S. involvement, according to a new SurveyMonkey poll fielded January 17-24 among more than 12,000 adults. That split has narrowed significantly since 2017, when a Chicago Council on Global Affairs survey found just 39% of the American public favored the involvement of U.S. troops if Russia invaded the rest of Ukraine, while 59% opposed U.S. involvement.
Republicans and Democrats are equally likely to oppose U.S. involvement (51%, respectively), while independents (60%) are more likely than partisans on both sides to oppose U.S. troops joining the fray in Ukraine.
Just 13% of adults in the U.S. say they have been following the Russia-Ukraine border conflict very closely.
- 16% of Republicans, 14% of Democrats, and 7% of independents have been following very closely
- 7% of 18-34 year-olds, 12% of 35-64 year-olds, and 25% of those 65+ have been following very closely
Those who’ve been paying close attention to the conflict are most likely to support the involvement of U.S. troops if Russia invades Ukraine. Almost two-thirds (63%) of adults who’ve followed the conflict ‘very closely’ are supportive, compared to just a quarter (25%) of adults who haven’t followed the conflict at all.
Americans overwhelmingly say the country is headed in the wrong direction rather than the right direction (69% vs. 23%), in line with similar polling from NBC News (72% vs. 22%).
- 90% of Republicans say things are headed in the wrong direction, vs. 48% of Democrats
- Only a quarter (25%) of the Silent generation and 28% of Boomers say things are headed in the right direction compared to 33% of Gen-Z
President Biden’s approval rating is underwater, with 45% approving and 53% disapproving of the job he is doing in office. Although 82% of Democrats and Democratic leaners approve of the job Biden is doing, only 32% strongly approve. Just 38% of independents and 9% of Republicans approve of Biden.
Read more about our polling methodology here.
Click through all the results in the interactive toplines below:
