Most Americans Say Biden Hasn’t Been Tough on Russia

A majority of Americans believe that President Joe Biden’s steps in punishing Russia for its invasion of Ukraine have not been tough enough.

A new poll by Quinnipac University found that 57 percent of Americans believe that Biden has not been tough enough against Russia, including 44 percent of Democrats. 47 percent of Democrats say that the measures that the Biden Administration have taken have been “About right.”

In both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, just 2 percent believe that Biden has been “too tough” on Russia. In the GOP, 80 percent believe Biden has not been tough enough, with 11 percent saying that Biden’s measures have been “about right.”

“More than 8 in 10 Americans (81 percent) have an unfavorable opinion of Vladimir Putin, 4 percent have a favorable opinion, and 12 percent haven’t heard enough about him,” the study states.

“Roughly half of Americans (49 percent) think Putin is mentally unstable, while 31 percent think he’s mentally stable, and 20 percent did not offer an opinion.

“Americans say 63 – 32 percent that Russia is not justified in making the claim that Ukraine should be reclaimed by Russia and no longer be a sovereign territory,” the study says.

“By a large majority, Vladimir Putin is deeply disliked, his justification for attacking Ukraine is rejected and nearly half of Americans consider him mentally unstable,” said Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy.

The poll was taken by telephone from February 25-27, 2022. 25 percent of respondents represented as Republican, with 29 percent identifying as Democrats, 34 percent as Independent, and 12 as “Other.”

“Responses are reported for 1,364 adults with a margin of sampling error of +/- 2.7
percentage points. The survey includes 1,223 self-identified registered voters with a margin of sampling error of +/- 2.8 percentage points.”