Support for further military aid to Ukraine is dropping slowly and steadily in the U.S., challenging President Biden’s vow to support the regime for “as long as it takes.”
Polls from the Associated Press, Pew Research and Fox News show rising skepticism toward the massive aid packages the Biden administration has made a habit of delivering to Ukraine. Support for such aid among Americans fell from 60% in May 2022 to just 48% today, according to the AP.
Meanwhile, the share of Americans who say the U.S. has already given too much to Ukraine has risen from just 7% in March 2022 to 26% today, according to Pew.
Fox News polling shows that Republicans are far more likely to be skeptical of Ukraine aid than Democrats, with 61% of Republicans saying there should be some limit to the flow of aid. Over 65% of Democrats say the opposite, however, arguing that aid should continue for as long as it takes.
BIDEN ADMIN SCRAMBLES TO TRACK $20B IN UKRAINE AID AS HOUSE REPUBLICANS WARN OF AUDITS
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sought to shore up relations with skeptical Republicans. Ukrainian officials are reportedly trying to set up a call between Zelenskyy and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who said last year that Ukraine should not be receiving “blank checks.”
Former President George W. Bush has pushed back on Republican criticism of Ukraine funding last week, arguing that the U.S. is wealthy enough to both support Ukraine and pursue its own priorities.
UKRAINE’S ZELENSKYY VOEWS TO ‘DEFEAT EVERYONE’ IN REMARKS ON 1-YEAR MARK OF RUSSIAN INVASION
“I think we’re a big enough nation to do more than one thing,” Bush said. “And continuing to fight against AIDS on the continent of Africa and supporting the Ukrainian freedom fighters is not going to constrain our capacity to help our own citizens.”
Republicans like Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green have called for an audit of the aid sent to Ukraine, seeing more accountability on how the aid is being used. However, White House officials have said there is no indication that any of the aid is being misused.
“We have seen no indication to date that any of the resources or weapons we’ve provided to Ukraine have been misused, misplaced, stolen, sold on the black market or captured by the Russians,” National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby told reporters last month.