Majority of Americans State Putin Wouldn’t Invade if Trump Were President

Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have invaded Ukraine had President Trump still been in office, a majority of Americans said according to the results of a new poll.

The survey released Friday from the Harvard Center for American Political Studies (CAPS)-Harris Poll found that 62% of Americans believed Putin would not have pulled the trigger if Trump were still president. 

The view was held by an overwhelming 85% of Republicans, but also 38% of Democrats. A further 59% of voters said Putin had decided to invade because Putin sensed weakness on the part of President Biden, while just 41% said that view had not played a role in Putin’s decision. 

The online poll was conducted between Feb. 23 and Feb. 24 and surveyed 2,026 registered voters.

After weeks of massing troops at the border, the Russian strongman launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine earlier this week. Invading soldiers have poured into the country while bombs and missiles have rained down the capital of Kiev, Lviv and other major cities around the country. Hundreds of casualties have been reported.

President Biden has forcefully condemned the Ukrainian invasion together with NATO allies, who have imposed a raft of sanctions on Russia, including its controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline with Germany.

Biden and Europe have so far refused to kick Russia out of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a secure platform that allows communications between 11,000 banks and financial institutions around the world, though it’s not off the table.