More than half of Republican voters back Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal plan, poll finds
President Biden's plan to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by or before Sept. 11, 2021, has its critics among Republicans in the halls of Congress, but Republican voters are mostly on board.
A Morning Consult poll released Wednesday found that the strategy is widely popular in the United States (overwhelmingly so among Democrats), and that 52 percent of Republican voters are in favor of it, compared to just 33 percent who oppose.
The reason, it seems, is pretty simple: Americans just want troops to come home safely after two decades of conflict. The major counterargument to Biden's decision is that the absence of U.S. forces will allow the Taliban to regain control over Afghanistan, which, in turn, would provide an opening for terrorist groups to re-establish themselves, presenting a threat to the U.S. and its allies, both at home and abroad. But that stance doesn't appear to be resonating with Americans.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Morning Consult poll was conducted between April 16-19 among 1,992 registered voters. The margin of error is 2 percentage points. Read more at Morning Consult.
-
5 cinematic cartoons about Bezos betting big on 'Melania'Cartoons Artists take on a girlboss, a fetching newspaper, and more
-
The fall of the generals: China’s military purgeIn the Spotlight Xi Jinping’s extraordinary removal of senior general proves that no-one is safe from anti-corruption drive that has investigated millions
-
Why the Gorton and Denton by-election is a ‘Frankenstein’s monster’Talking Point Reform and the Greens have the Labour seat in their sights, but the constituency’s complex demographics make messaging tricky
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
