Polling Results

• Two thirds (66%) of US adults support the West intervening diplomatically to get Russia to stop its invasion
• Two in five (38%) say that they think the US’ response to Russia has not gone far enough
• America is divided in terms of who they would trust most to stand up to Russia – 38% say Joe Biden vs 37% who say Donald Trump

Over half (52%) of Americans would support military intervention from Western countries to protect Ukraine if diplomatic means fail, according to new insight from political polling agency, Opinium. Additionally, two thirds (66%) of US adults support Western countries intervening diplomatically – including economic sanctions and other penalties – in an attempt to get Russia to stop its invasion.

Support for intervening to assist Ukraine does not falter when looking at the potential impact on US citizens’ own financial situation, as well as the financial situation for the country as a whole. Among those who support intervention, over two thirds (67%) would maintain their support if one of the side effects was a negative impact on the US economy. Similarly, almost two thirds (64%) said they would still support this if it had a negative impact on their personal finances or caused their energy bills to rise (68%).

Thinking about the US’ response to the war so far, two in five (38%) Americans revealed that they believe it has not gone far enough.

Leadership in a crisis

America is divided when it comes to who they would trust most to stand up to Russia, with two in five (38%) backing Biden and two in five (37%) backing Trump. This is split almost exactly down party lines, with 71% of Democrats saying they would most trust Biden, and 74% of Republicans stating they would trust Trump.

Looking at the general sentiment toward the US government and its leaders, President Biden’s approval ratings are up, but the country remains divided, with almost half (47%) approving of the job he’s doing, and 42% disapproving.

With many of the final Covid restrictions lifting, over two fifths (46%) of US citizens reported that they approve of the way the federal government is handling the coronavirus pandemic, with 37% saying they disapprove.

Opinium conducted an online survey among 2,000 nationally representative US adults from March 03^rd to March 08^th, 2022. Results have been weighted to nationally representative criteria. The data tables for this study can be found here.