Slightly more Americans approve than disapprove of the way President Barack Obama has handled the crisis in Ukraine, according to a new poll.
A CNN/ORC International poll released Monday found 48 percent of Americans give the President a thumbs-up on his approach to the situation in Ukraine so far, while 43 percent disapprove and 9 percent remain unsure. The crisis has not affected Obama’s overall job approval rating, which the poll found to be at 43-53 percent compared to 45-50 percent a month ago.
Nearly 6 in 10 said they support economic sanctions against Russia as a means of pressuring it to remove troops from the Crimean peninsula and deterring it from sending more forces into other parts of Ukraine, according to the poll. But it found Americans are against sending economic aid to Ukraine by a 52-46 percent margin, something Obama urged lawmakers to take action on.
The slight approval for the President’s handling of Ukraine stands in contrast to public opinion during the Syrian conflict last fall. Polling in September found that a majority of Americans disapproved of Obama’s handling of the crisis and did not believe he made a convincing case for taking military action.
The CNN/ORC poll surveyed 801 adults nationwide from March 7-9 and had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
