When it comes to polls, President Joe Biden typically has strong support from his base on the issues. That isn't so much the case when it comes to his handling of Afghanistan. Polls consistently show the president has low marks on the issue, but a poll from The Economist/YouGov shows what support Biden has from that base isn't so strong. My VIP column last night looked to how the president was losing support from Independents, a key voting bloc of his for 2020.
It should come as a surprise to no one that only 4 percent think it's been handled "very well" when asked how they would "describe the way the evacuation from Afghanistan has been handled." A plurality, at 43 percent, says it's been handled "very badly."
But what's noteworthy is that percentage who think it's been handled "very well" is consistently low across the board. Just 5 percent of Biden voters and 6 percent of Democrats think so. A plurality of these demographics think it's gone "somewhat badly," at 40 percent and 39 percent, respectively.
A strong majority of these voters are following coverage of Afghanistan at least "somewhat closely."
That includes majority of Biden voters, at 56 percent, who are following coverage of Afghanistan "somewhat closely," while 22 percent are following it "very closely." The numbers are slightly different for Democratic voters, though. Fifty-one percent are following it "somewhat closely," but the next highest response is "not very closely," at 23 percent. Twenty percent are following "very closely."
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For a "select all that apply" kind of question, respondents know that Biden and his administration are responsible for this mess. The most selected choice, and the only one with a majority, was Joe Biden, who got 59 percent. Forty percent selected "The Administration's advisers."
While Biden voters and Democrats more so hold "The former Afghan government" responsible, at 53 percent and 47 percent, respectively, they don't completely let the president and his advisers off the hook. Forty percent of Biden voters selected the president and 47 percent selected the advisers. Those numbers were at 40 percent and 43 percent respectively for Democrats.
Where his base does support Biden is overall "the way Joe Biden is handling the war in Afghanistan." A plurality of Biden voters, at 39 percent, "somewhat approve" of his performance. That plurality is similar for Democrats, at 36 percent.
Nevertheless, a plurality of total respondents, at 38 percent, still say they "strongly disapprove" of how he is handling it.
It's worth emphasizing that this poll was conducted August 21-24, therefore before the terrorist attack at the Kabul airport killed 13 U.S. service members. There were 1,500 U.S. adult citizens surveyed, with the adjusted margin of error at plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.
In an article published Saturday for The Washington Examiner, Naomi Lim referenced the poll when writing about how "Afghanistan attacks test Biden as 'consoler in chief'." She cites another part of the poll:
But Biden's grace period appears to be coming to an end, based on his approval ratings. The public sentiment concerning him as consoler in chief may be better understood through polling that examines whether respondents believe Biden "cares about people like you."
An Economist/YouGov tracking poll published after Afghanistan's collapse captures a dip in Biden's "cares about people like you" numbers. The poll found 45% of respondents believed Biden cared about them , while 46% did not. Another 9% were not sure.
In January, the same poll found that 52% believed Biden cared , 42% did not, and 6% were not sure.
Sunday brought the release of the ABC News/Ipsos poll, which was conducted on August 27 and August 28, with 513 adults and a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points, also delved into Afghanistan. Thirty-eight percent approve of Biden's handling of Afghanistan; just last month 55 percent did.
The relevant questions also specifically asked about the withdrawal, and whether or not respondents thought the United States should stay.
Strong majorities want the U.S. troops to stay when it comes to evacuations, for citizens and Afghan allies. Eighty-four percent "think U.S. troops should stay in Afghanistan until all Americans have been evacuated" and 71 percent "think U.S. troops should stay in Afghanistan until all Afghans who aided the United States have been evacuated."
Ultimately, the Biden administration has stuck to its August 31 deadline for removing the troops. As Spencer aptly put it, the president "caved" to the Taliban on that one.
