President Donald Trump‘s disastrous Oval Office meeting, where he and Vice President JD Vance tore into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was seen around the world.
MAGA Republicans praised Trump on his performance. Meanwhile, Democrats and supporters of Ukraine’s years-long fight against Russia recoiled at the exchange.
But what does polling show about Trump’s handling of the war compared to former President Joe Biden?
CNN’s data guru, Harry Enten, broke it down:
“Do Americans like the way that Trump is handling his job compared to how they felt about Joe Biden,” he said while showing a graph highlighting the net approval rating of each president when it came to the handling of the Russia-Ukraine situation. “You look at Joe Biden back in 2024, he was 22 points underwater, holy cow? You look at Donald Trump, it’s just a different planet entirely. The gulf between these two is wider than the Gulf of America or Mexico depending on which side of the aisle you stand on. (Trump) is at plus-2.
“So, look at this particular point, Americans are giving Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt,” Enten continued. “He’s doing considerably better than Joe Biden was doing on the handling of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. On this simple question, I think Americans are saying, ‘OK, Donald Trump is doing alright on this.’”
He continued: “Support Ukraine’s right to fight, even if it means a longer war, coming in at 48%. This is very, very close, but the trend line on this is so important, because look at this, if you go back to August 2022, it was at 31% (wanting a quick end). Now we are at 50%. I mean, that is a rocket ship upward in terms of Americans that want a quick end to the war, even if it means Russia keeps the captured Ukraine land. Americans are moving closer and closer to wanting a compromise, even if it means that Ukraine doesn’t really get what it set out to want, at least, at the beginning of this war.”
Trump on Monday directed a “pause” to U.S. assistance to Ukraine as he seeks to pressure Zelenskyy to engage in negotiations to end the war with Russia.
A White House official told The Associated Press Trump is focused on reaching a peace deal and wants Zelenskyy “committed” to that goal. The official added that the U.S. was “pausing and reviewing” its aid to “ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”
The order will remain in effect until Trump determines that Ukraine has demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia, the official said.
The halting of military aid comes some five years after Trump held up congressionally authorized assistance to Ukraine as he sought to pressure Zelenskyy to launch an investigation into Biden, then a Democratic presidential candidate. The moment led to Trump’s first impeachment.
In the leadup to the 2024 election, Trump vowed a quick end to the war in Ukraine, even once boasting that he could bring a halt to the fighting in one day. He has shown increasing frustration with Zelenskyy over the war while simultaneously expressing confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he has long admired, can be trusted to keep the peace if a truce is reached.
Trump earlier on Monday slammed Zelenskyy for suggesting that the end of the war likely “is still very, very far away.” Zelenskyy had suggested it would take time to come to an agreement to end the war as he tried to offer a positive take on the U.S.-Ukraine relationship in the aftermath of last week’s White House meeting.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
