WASHINGTON — Support among the American public for providing Ukraine weaponry and direct economic assistance has softened as the Russian invasion nears a grim one-year milestone, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Forty-eight percent say they favor the U.S. providing weapons to Ukraine, with 29% opposed and 22% saying they’re neither in favor nor opposed. In May 2022, less than three months into the war, 60% of U.S. adults said they were in favor of sending Ukraine weapons.
Patrick Semansky, AP file photo
President Joe Biden speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Dec. 21, 2022, in the Oval Office of the White House. Support among the American public for providing Ukraine weaponry and direct economic assistance has softened as the Russian invasion nears a grim one-year milestone.
Americans are about evenly divided on sending government funds directly to Ukraine, with 37% in favor and 38% opposed, with 23% saying neither. The signs of diminished support for Ukraine come as President Joe Biden is set to travel to Poland next week to mark the first anniversary of the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II.
“I am sympathetic for Ukraine’s situation and I feel badly for them, but I feel like we need to first take care of priorities here at home,” said Joe Hernandez, 44, of Rocklin, California.
Hernandez, a Republican, added that it’s difficult to support generous U.S. spending on military and economic assistance to Ukraine when many American communities don’t have the resources to deal with the ramifications of migrants crossing into the U.S. at the southern border, a rise in drug overdoses caused by fentanyl and other lab-produced synthetic opioids, and a homelessness crisis in his state.
Biden has repeatedly stated that the United States will help Ukraine “as long as it takes” to repel the Russian invasion that began on Feb. 24 of last year. Privately, administration officials have warned Ukrainian officials that there is a limit to the patience of a narrowly divided Congress — and American public — for the costs of a war with no clear end. Congress approved about $113 billion in economic, humanitarian and military spending in 2022.
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Analysis: Stakes rise as Iran can fuel ‘several’ atom bombs
AP file
For months, U.S. officials balked at sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, insisting they were too complicated and too hard to maintain and repair.
On Wednesday, that abruptly changed. Ukraine's desperate pleas for tanks were answered with a sweeping, trans-Atlantic yes.
The dramatic reversal was the culmination of intense international pressure and diplomatic arm-twisting that played out over the last week. And it resulted in in a quick succession of announcements: The U.S. said it will send 31 of the 70-ton Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine, and Germany announced it will send 14 Leopard 2 tanks and allow other countries to do the same.
AP file
For months, U.S. officials balked at sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, insisting they were too complicated and too hard to maintain and repair.
On Wednesday, that abruptly changed. Ukraine's desperate pleas for tanks were answered with a sweeping, trans-Atlantic yes.
The dramatic reversal was the culmination of intense international pressure and diplomatic arm-twisting that played out over the last week. And it resulted in in a quick succession of announcements: The U.S. said it will send 31 of the 70-ton Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine, and Germany announced it will send 14 Leopard 2 tanks and allow other countries to do the same.
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Analysis: Stakes rise as Iran can fuel ‘several’ atom bombs
Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP, File
WHAT ARE THE ABRAMS?
M1 Abrams tanks have led American battle assaults for decades.
Carrying a crew of four, the Abrams was first deployed to war in 1991. It has thick armor, a 120 mm main gun, armor piercing capabilities, advanced targeting systems, thick tracked wheels and a 1,500-horsepower turbine engine with a top speed of about 42 miles per hour (68 kilometers per hour).
Crews interviewed in a 1992 Government Accountability Office review after the Persian Gulf War praised its high survivability and said “several M1A1 crews reported receiving direct frontal hits from Iraqi T-72s with minimal damage.”
More recently, the battle titans led the charge to Baghdad during America’s 2003 invasion of Iraq, as 3rd Infantry Division units conducted what was dubbed “Thunder Runs” to break through Iraqi defenses.
The Abrams' powerful jet engine can propel the tank through almost any terrain, whether heavy snow or heavy mud, said Kevin Butler, a former Army lieutenant who served as an Abrams tank platoon leader. Butler recalled a muddy exercise in the late 1990s at Fort Stewart, Georgia, where he’d voiced concern about the tanks getting stuck because it had already stuck the Humvees.
The Abrams, he said, "didn’t even notice” the mud.
Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP, File
WHAT ARE THE ABRAMS?
M1 Abrams tanks have led American battle assaults for decades.
Carrying a crew of four, the Abrams was first deployed to war in 1991. It has thick armor, a 120 mm main gun, armor piercing capabilities, advanced targeting systems, thick tracked wheels and a 1,500-horsepower turbine engine with a top speed of about 42 miles per hour (68 kilometers per hour).
Crews interviewed in a 1992 Government Accountability Office review after the Persian Gulf War praised its high survivability and said “several M1A1 crews reported receiving direct frontal hits from Iraqi T-72s with minimal damage.”
More recently, the battle titans led the charge to Baghdad during America’s 2003 invasion of Iraq, as 3rd Infantry Division units conducted what was dubbed “Thunder Runs” to break through Iraqi defenses.
The Abrams' powerful jet engine can propel the tank through almost any terrain, whether heavy snow or heavy mud, said Kevin Butler, a former Army lieutenant who served as an Abrams tank platoon leader. Butler recalled a muddy exercise in the late 1990s at Fort Stewart, Georgia, where he’d voiced concern about the tanks getting stuck because it had already stuck the Humvees.
The Abrams, he said, "didn’t even notice” the mud.
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Analysis: Stakes rise as Iran can fuel ‘several’ atom bombs
AP file
WHY THE U.S. KEPT SAYING NO
The Abrams' jet engine needs hundreds of gallons of fuel to operate.
It will burn through fuel at a rate of at least two gallons per mile (4.7 liters per kilometer), whether the tank is moving or idling, Butler said, which means a constant supply convoy of fuel trucks must stay within reach so it can keep moving forward.
The U.S. worried that the fuel demands would create a logistical nightmare for Ukrainian forces. While an Abrams can storm through the snow and mud, fuel trucks can't. In addition, like any jet engine, the Abrams' turbine needs air to breathe, which it sucks in through filtered rear vents. When those vent filters get clogged — whether by sand, as soldiers reported to GAO in 1992, or by debris they might encounter in Ukraine — they can't perform.
“The Abrams tank is a very complicated piece of equipment. It’s expensive, it’s hard to train on. ... It is not the easiest system to maintain. It may or may not be the right system,” The under secretary of defense for policy, Colin Kahl, told reporters last week at the Pentagon.
The Abrams also will require months of training. Ukrainian forces will have to learn how to operate its more complex systems, and how to keep it running and fueled.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, pictured
AP file
WHY THE U.S. KEPT SAYING NO
The Abrams' jet engine needs hundreds of gallons of fuel to operate.
It will burn through fuel at a rate of at least two gallons per mile (4.7 liters per kilometer), whether the tank is moving or idling, Butler said, which means a constant supply convoy of fuel trucks must stay within reach so it can keep moving forward.
The U.S. worried that the fuel demands would create a logistical nightmare for Ukrainian forces. While an Abrams can storm through the snow and mud, fuel trucks can't. In addition, like any jet engine, the Abrams' turbine needs air to breathe, which it sucks in through filtered rear vents. When those vent filters get clogged — whether by sand, as soldiers reported to GAO in 1992, or by debris they might encounter in Ukraine — they can't perform.
“The Abrams tank is a very complicated piece of equipment. It’s expensive, it’s hard to train on. ... It is not the easiest system to maintain. It may or may not be the right system,” The under secretary of defense for policy, Colin Kahl, told reporters last week at the Pentagon.
The Abrams also will require months of training. Ukrainian forces will have to learn how to operate its more complex systems, and how to keep it running and fueled.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, pictured
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Analysis: Stakes rise as Iran can fuel ‘several’ atom bombs
Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP
THE ARM-TWISTING TURNABOUT
Despite all the drawbacks expressed by the U.S., when all was said and done, it came down to political realities and a diplomatic dance.
Germany had been reluctant to send the Leopards, or allow allies to send them, unless the U.S. put its Abrams on the table, due to concerns that supplying the tanks would incur Russia’s wrath. The U.S., meanwhile, argued that the German-made Leopards were a better fit because Ukrainian troops could get them and get trained on them far more quickly and easily.
The impasse frustrated European allies, such as Poland, who wanted to send Leopards but couldn’t without Germany’s OK. Thus began the more fierce negotiations.
U.S. and German officials both used the word “intensive” to describe the talks that ultimately led to the tank turnabout by both countries.
“This is the result of intensive consultations, once again, with our allies and international partners,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz, pictured, said in an address to German lawmakers on Wednesday.
Echoing Scholz, a senior U.S. administration official said talks had been going on for some time but “in a much more intensified way over the last number of weeks.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details on the decision.
From President Joe Biden on down, calls were made, including to Scholz. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke and met with their German counterparts and other allies.
Last Friday, the pressure was palpable. Top defense leaders from more than 50 countries met at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to discuss Ukraine's ongoing weapons and equipment needs. Tanks were a key subject. Leaders from countries that have Leopard tanks met with the new German defense minister.
Gradually, the German stance began to publicly soften, leading to Wednesday's announcements. Asked repeatedly what changed, Biden administration officials sidestepped. Asked directly about German pressure, Biden told reporters, “Germany didn’t force me to change our mind.”
Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP
THE ARM-TWISTING TURNABOUT
Despite all the drawbacks expressed by the U.S., when all was said and done, it came down to political realities and a diplomatic dance.
Germany had been reluctant to send the Leopards, or allow allies to send them, unless the U.S. put its Abrams on the table, due to concerns that supplying the tanks would incur Russia’s wrath. The U.S., meanwhile, argued that the German-made Leopards were a better fit because Ukrainian troops could get them and get trained on them far more quickly and easily.
The impasse frustrated European allies, such as Poland, who wanted to send Leopards but couldn’t without Germany’s OK. Thus began the more fierce negotiations.
U.S. and German officials both used the word “intensive” to describe the talks that ultimately led to the tank turnabout by both countries.
“This is the result of intensive consultations, once again, with our allies and international partners,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz, pictured, said in an address to German lawmakers on Wednesday.
Echoing Scholz, a senior U.S. administration official said talks had been going on for some time but “in a much more intensified way over the last number of weeks.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details on the decision.
From President Joe Biden on down, calls were made, including to Scholz. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke and met with their German counterparts and other allies.
Last Friday, the pressure was palpable. Top defense leaders from more than 50 countries met at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to discuss Ukraine's ongoing weapons and equipment needs. Tanks were a key subject. Leaders from countries that have Leopard tanks met with the new German defense minister.
Gradually, the German stance began to publicly soften, leading to Wednesday's announcements. Asked repeatedly what changed, Biden administration officials sidestepped. Asked directly about German pressure, Biden told reporters, “Germany didn’t force me to change our mind.”
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Analysis: Stakes rise as Iran can fuel ‘several’ atom bombs
AP Photo/LIBKOS, File
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?
Timing for both delivery of the tanks to Ukraine and the training of Ukrainian troops is fuzzy. U.S. officials would only say that it will take “many months” to deliver the Abrams tanks, but that the Leopards will arrive faster.
Doug Bush, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, said the U.S. no longer buys new Abrams, but uses older ones as “seed vehicles” and refurbishes them. Doing that, however, isn't quick or easy, he said.
The training can begin more quickly, and the Pentagon is developing a program.
“We want to make sure that they (the tanks) fall on ready hands, and that the Ukrainians know how to use them, they know how to keep them running, and they’ve got the supply chain in place for spare parts and supplies," said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
Bush said the Ukrainians have shown they have the knowledge and capabilities to learn new systems quickly.
“We can often abbreviate and accelerate what we can do in terms of training for Ukrainian army soldiers,” he told reporters Wednesday. "With enough motivation and dedicated 24/7 access to them, we can train people really quickly,” he said. "The U.S. Army knows how to do that.”
AP Photo/LIBKOS, File
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?
Timing for both delivery of the tanks to Ukraine and the training of Ukrainian troops is fuzzy. U.S. officials would only say that it will take “many months” to deliver the Abrams tanks, but that the Leopards will arrive faster.
Doug Bush, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, said the U.S. no longer buys new Abrams, but uses older ones as “seed vehicles” and refurbishes them. Doing that, however, isn't quick or easy, he said.
The training can begin more quickly, and the Pentagon is developing a program.
“We want to make sure that they (the tanks) fall on ready hands, and that the Ukrainians know how to use them, they know how to keep them running, and they’ve got the supply chain in place for spare parts and supplies," said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
Bush said the Ukrainians have shown they have the knowledge and capabilities to learn new systems quickly.
“We can often abbreviate and accelerate what we can do in terms of training for Ukrainian army soldiers,” he told reporters Wednesday. "With enough motivation and dedicated 24/7 access to them, we can train people really quickly,” he said. "The U.S. Army knows how to do that.”
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War Crimes Watch: A devastating walk through Bucha’s horror
Rodrigo Abd
FILE - Ira Gavriluk holds her cat as she walks next to the corpses of her husband and her brother, who were killed in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
Rodrigo Abd
FILE - Ira Gavriluk holds her cat as she walks next to the corpses of her husband and her brother, who were killed in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
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War Crimes Watch: A devastating walk through Bucha’s horror
Vadim Ghirda
FILE - A neighbor comforts Natalya, whose husband and nephew were killed by Russian forces, as she cries in her garden in Bucha, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
Vadim Ghirda
FILE - A neighbor comforts Natalya, whose husband and nephew were killed by Russian forces, as she cries in her garden in Bucha, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
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War Crimes Watch: A devastating walk through Bucha’s horror
Rodrigo Abd
FILE - Vladyslav Minchenko, left, with policemen collect information next to corpses of civilians killed in Bucha, before the corpses are transported to the morgue, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
Rodrigo Abd
FILE - Vladyslav Minchenko, left, with policemen collect information next to corpses of civilians killed in Bucha, before the corpses are transported to the morgue, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
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War Crimes Watch: A devastating walk through Bucha’s horror
Vadim Ghirda
FILE - The body of a man who was killed lies in the staircase of a building in Bucha, Ukraine, Sunday, April 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
Vadim Ghirda
FILE - The body of a man who was killed lies in the staircase of a building in Bucha, Ukraine, Sunday, April 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
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War Crimes Watch: A devastating walk through Bucha’s horror
Vadim Ghirda
FiLE - Municipal workers remove the body of a man who died from a house in Bucha, Ukraine, Thursday, April 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
Vadim Ghirda
FiLE - Municipal workers remove the body of a man who died from a house in Bucha, Ukraine, Thursday, April 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
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War Crimes Watch: A devastating walk through Bucha’s horror
Felipe Dana
FILE - A family walks amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
Felipe Dana
FILE - A family walks amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
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War Crimes Watch: A devastating walk through Bucha’s horror
Rodrigo Abd
FILE - A dog passes near another dog that was killed in the courtyard of a house in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
Rodrigo Abd
FILE - A dog passes near another dog that was killed in the courtyard of a house in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
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War Crimes Watch: A devastating walk through Bucha’s horror
Vadim Ghirda
A woman cooks on an open fire outside an apartment building which according to residents has no gas, water, electricity and heating for more than a month in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, Saturday, April 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Vadim Ghirda
A woman cooks on an open fire outside an apartment building which according to residents has no gas, water, electricity and heating for more than a month in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, Saturday, April 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
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War Crimes Watch: A devastating walk through Bucha’s horror
Vadim Ghirda
FILE - A man and child ride on a bicycle as bodies of civilians lie in the street in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, Saturday, April 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
Vadim Ghirda
FILE - A man and child ride on a bicycle as bodies of civilians lie in the street in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, Saturday, April 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
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War Crimes Watch: A devastating walk through Bucha’s horror
Rodrigo Abd
FILE - Tanya Nedashkivs'ka, 57, mourns the death of her husband on the site where he was buried, in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Rodrigo Abd
FILE - Tanya Nedashkivs'ka, 57, mourns the death of her husband on the site where he was buried, in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
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War Crimes Watch: A devastating walk through Bucha’s horror
Vadim Ghirda
FILE - A Ukrainian serviceman uses a piece of wood to check if the body of a man dressed in civilian clothing is booby-trapped with explosive devices, in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, Saturday, April 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Vadim Ghirda
FILE - A Ukrainian serviceman uses a piece of wood to check if the body of a man dressed in civilian clothing is booby-trapped with explosive devices, in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, Saturday, April 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
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War Crimes Watch: A devastating walk through Bucha’s horror
Felipe Dana
FILE - A dog stands next to the body of an elderly woman killed at the entrance of her house in Bucha, outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
Felipe Dana
FILE - A dog stands next to the body of an elderly woman killed at the entrance of her house in Bucha, outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
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War Crimes Watch: A devastating walk through Bucha’s horror
Rodrigo Abd
FILE - Nina Kirinchenko, 90, greets journalists next to her husband in part of a building that was converted as housing for 400 people, since apartments were used by Russian soldiers during the occupation of Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
Rodrigo Abd
FILE - Nina Kirinchenko, 90, greets journalists next to her husband in part of a building that was converted as housing for 400 people, since apartments were used by Russian soldiers during the occupation of Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
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War Crimes Watch: A devastating walk through Bucha’s horror
Vadim Ghirda
The body of a man who was killed with his hands tied behind his back lies on the ground in Bucha, Ukraine, Sunday, April 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Vadim Ghirda
The body of a man who was killed with his hands tied behind his back lies on the ground in Bucha, Ukraine, Sunday, April 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
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War Crimes Watch: A devastating walk through Bucha’s horror
Rodrigo Abd
FILE - Bodies lie in a mass grave in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, April 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
Rodrigo Abd
FILE - Bodies lie in a mass grave in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, April 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
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War Crimes Watch: A devastating walk through Bucha’s horror
Vadim Ghirda
FILE - A woman cries as residents listen to a Ukrainian serviceman speaking after a convoy of military and aid vehicles arrived in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, April 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Vadim Ghirda
FILE - A woman cries as residents listen to a Ukrainian serviceman speaking after a convoy of military and aid vehicles arrived in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, April 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
The poll shows 19% of Americans have a great deal of confidence in Biden’s ability to handle the situation in Ukraine, while 37% say they have only some confidence and 43% have hardly any.
Views of Biden’s handling of the war divide largely along partisan lines. Among Democrats, 40% say they have a great deal of confidence in Biden to handle the situation, 50% have some confidence and 9% have hardly any. Among Republicans, a large majority (76%) say they have hardly any confidence. Those numbers are largely unchanged since last May.
Janice Fortado, 78, of Ipswich, Massachusetts, said Biden deserves credit for his handling of the war. She agreed with Biden’s hesitance early in the war about sending advanced and offensive weaponry out of concern that it would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a pretext to expand the war beyond Ukraine and spur a larger global conflict.
But as the war has dragged on — and Ukrainian forces have held up against a more formidable Russian military — some of that resistance has melted away. Biden has approved sending light multiple rocket launchers known as HIMARS, Patriot missile systems, Bradley fighting vehicles, Abrams tanks, and more. Biden, however, continues to balk at Ukraine’s request for fighter jets.
“As my opinion evolved, I came to wish we had offered more to Ukraine sooner,” said Fortado, a Democrat, who added that she hopes the U.S. and allies change their mind on the fighter jets. “We seem to have done a drip, drip, drip. I understand why it is they were hesitant, but we are now beyond that point.”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., before winning the speakership, vowed that Republicans wouldn’t write a “blank check” for Ukraine once they were in charge. And some of the most right-leaning Republicans lashed out at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky over his support of a $1.7 trillion spending bill passed in December that included about $47 billion for Ukraine.
Alex Hoxeng, 37, of Midland, Texas, said he expected Republicans to take a tougher line on Ukraine spending.
“I think Biden isn’t worried enough about inflation,” said Hoxeng, a Republican. “We should just stay out of it. Ukraine is halfway around the world and we have our own problems.”
A majority of Americans, 63%, still favor imposing economic sanctions on Russia, the poll shows, though that too has decreased from the 71% who said that in May 2022.
And 59% say limiting damage to the U.S. economy is more important than effectively sanctioning Russia, even if that means sanctions are less effective. Almost a year ago, in March 2022, the situation was reversed: 55% said it was a bigger priority to sanction Russia effectively, even if it meant damage to the U.S. economy.
Shandi Carter, 51, of Big Spring, Texas, said she’s become frustrated with the global ramifications the war has had on consumers, including volatile gas prices and increasing food costs. Carter, who tends to vote Republican, said she’s been displeased with Biden’s handling of the crisis but doesn’t think Donald Trump would have done any better had he won the 2020 election.
“I just wish it was over. I wish it had never started,” Carter said. “It didn’t matter if there was a Democrat or Republican there. Putin was going to do what he wanted to do.”
