President Trump has faced bipartisan criticism over his decision to withdraw troops from Syria. Most notably, Jim Mattis resigned as secretary of defense in protest. Trump’s answer to the critiques? He tweeted: “I campaigned on getting out of Syria and other places. … Just doing what I said I was […] Read more »
Trump’s pullback in Syria runs strongly against the views of his political base
Trump’s decision to withdraw all U.S. military forces from Syria this week caught military leaders and lawmakers off-guard, drawing criticism from across party lines. But the surprise announcement also marks a rare instance where Trump has broken strongly with his political base, which has widely supported military efforts to combat […] Read more »
Key public opinion findings on Trump, Putin and the countries they lead
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet next week in Finland for their first bilateral summit (though they have met in less formal settings on other occasions). Issues on the table could include the NATO military alliance, U.S. sanctions against Russia, the conflict in Syria and […] Read more »
Half of Americans Approve of Strikes on Syria
Americans are sharply divided over the recent U.S. military airstrikes in Syria, with half approving, 43% disapproving and 7% having no opinion. Public support for the latest airstrikes essentially matches responses to similar actions against Syria a year ago and several other U.S. military interventions, historically. CONT. RJ Reinhart, Gallup Read more »
Americans and Russians Agree on Priorities for Syria, Differ on Urgency of North Korea
In a holiday greeting to US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged “pragmatic cooperation” between the United States and Russia to address global challenges and threats. This message builds upon previous Trump-Putin phone conversations regarding the situation in Syria and threats from North Korea. Survey results show that […] Read more »
The year in polls
President Obama left office a popular figure — 62 percent of Americans approved of the way he handled his job over the past eight years, ranking him third among outgoing presidents since CBS began asking the question in 1981 – behind outgoing presidents Bill Clinton (68 percent) and Ronald Reagan […] Read more »