Poll: Plurality of Americans Say U.S. Provides Too Much Aid to Ukraine as Speaker Johnson Gives It $60 Billion

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Jose Luis Magana/AP

Americans are increasingly saying the United States is providing too much aid to Ukraine as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) led efforts to give the embattled nation $60 billion for its seemingly endless conflict with Russia.

A Pew Research poll released on Tuesday found that 31 percent of Americans believe the country provides too much aid to Ukraine, compared to 25 percent who believe the amount is “about right,” and 24 percent who believe that the amount is not “enough.”

This figure is a stark contrast to when Pew first started polling this issue in March 2022, when 7 percent thought that we provided too much, 32 percent said the amount was about right, and 42 percent believed it was not enough.

Now 49 percent of Republicans believe America provides too much aid, 21 percent say it is about right, and 13 percent say it is not enough.

Pew also noted that opinions on aid to Ukraine vary by age.

“Partisans also differ by age, with younger Republicans and Democrats more likely than their older counterparts to say the U.S. is giving too much aid to Ukraine. Younger partisans are also significantly more likely to answer “Not sure” on this question,” Pew wrote.

The Pew Research poll follows as Speaker Johnson led an effort to give Ukraine $60 billion in aid, effectively reversing his promise not to advance foreign aid without first securing the border.

Before he became Speaker, Republicans for Ukraine, a group backed by arch- neoconservative and Never Trumper Bill Kristol, gave Johnson an “F” grade for his many votes against Ukraine aid.

In May 2022, after voting against aid to Ukraine Johnson, said in a statement:

We should not be sending another $40 billion abroad when our own border is in chaos, American mothers are struggling to find baby formula, gas prices are at record highs, and American families are struggling to make ends meet, without sufficient oversight over where the money will go. 

Now, Johnson, in a press conference in April, described himself as a “wartime Speaker” as he defended his plan to send aid to Ukraine and other countries.

“My philosophy is do the right thing and let the chips fall where they may. If I operated out of fear over motion to vacate, I would never be able to do my job. Look, history judges us for what we do. This is a critical time right now,” he said.

Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.

Authored by Sean Moran via Breitbart May 8th 2024