Republicans trust Trump over the Pentagon

The party’s voters see the former US president as a more reliable source of information about the Russia-Ukraine conflict

America’s Republican voters believe former President Donald Trump is a more reliable source of information about the Russia-Ukraine conflict than either their government or the media, a new poll has shown.

The CBS News/YouGov survey, released on Sunday, found that 79% of Republicans trust Trump for information on the Ukraine crisis. That compares with 60% trust for the US military, 56% for conservative media outlets, 33% for “journalists in the war zone,” and just 27% for the US State Department.

The poll, which was conducted earlier this week, also showed waning public support for continuing to send weapons to Kiev. Just 53% of US adults believe their government should give military aid to Ukraine, down from 72% two years ago. While 74% of Democrats favor continued weapons shipments, independents are evenly divided (50%-50%), and 61% of Republicans are opposed.

Opposition to Ukraine aid is even higher among Trump supporters, 69% of whom say the US should not send more munitions to Kiev. Among other Republicans, 55% hold the same view, and 45% say Washington should continue to arm Ukrainian forces.

Republicans also are less likely to view Russia as an adversary. Just 29% of Republican voters say Moscow is an “enemy,” compared with 47% of Democrats and 36% of independents. More than three in ten (31%) of Republicans see Russia as an “ally,” the poll found, while 40% say it’s “unfriendly.”

Views of Russia vary not only by political party, but also by age. Americans aged 50 and above – old enough to have been an adult during the Cold War – are about 50% more likely than younger respondents to see Russia as an “enemy.” However, only one-third of US adults realize that their country won the Cold War. Other responses were that the US lost (5%), neither won nor lost (32%) or “don’t remember” (30%).

Support for Ukraine aid is highest (72%) among Americans who believe the US has a “responsibility to promote democracy” across the world, the poll showed. Among those who see no such obligation for their country, only 28% believe Washington should give military aid to Ukraine.

Just 39% of US adults approve of how President Joe Biden is handling the Ukraine crisis. Similarly, 33% approve of Biden’s response to the Israel-Hamas war. Six in ten Americans say their president should urge Israel to either scale back or halt its military operations in Gaza.