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A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday revealed a significant difference in how members of each political party view politicians and media figures who make comments supportive of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to the poll, 81% of Democrats say that they view politicians and media figures who've made pro-Putin comments in the last several weeks less favorably, while 16% said it didn't affect their opinion.
But while 54% of self-identified independents said the same, just 45% of Republicans agreed. A slight plurality of Republicans, 46%, said that such comments don't affect their opinions of the public figures making them.
A minuscule percentage of voters — 3% of Republicans, 2% of Democrats, and 1% of independents — say that such comments make them view politicians and media figures more favorably.
More broadly, the poll found strong support among the American public for supporting Ukrainians amid the Russian invasion of their country, with 75% of Americans declaring that the US should do whatever it can to support Ukraine short of triggering a war; 52% of Americans said they're following the conflict closely, with little difference between the two major parties.
The polling comes weeks after former President Donald Trump described Putin's justification to invade Ukraine as "genius" and "savvy," though he said recently that he was surprised by the Russian leader's decision to launch a full-scale invasion.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson, influential among Republican voters, has been accused of parroting pro-Kremlin talking points both before and after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, though he recently began to change his tune.
And last week, far-right Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "thug" and said the Ukrainian government was "extremely corrupt" and "extremely evil."
But despite Republican voters' relative indifference when it comes to Putin, congressional Republicans have been pushing the Biden administration to go even further to assist Ukraine, including calling for the transfer of Soviet-era MiG planes to Ukraine to allow them to combat Russian aircraft. The Biden administration has resisted the move, fearing an escalation in its conflict with Russia.
And some Republicans are pushing back on those who've praised Putin. Former Vice President Mike Pence recently declared in a speech to Republican donors that there's "no room" in the party for "apologists for Putin," implicitly criticizing his former running mate.
Republican senators, meanwhile, condemned Rep. Cawthorn as an outlier when asked by Insider about his remarks at a press conference last week.
The poll was conducted from March 10 to March 14, 2022, by mobile phones and landlines. "Responses are reported for 1,936 adults with a margin of sampling error of +/- 2.2 percentage points," according to Quinnipiac. "The survey includes 1,754 self-identified registered voters with a margin of sampling error of +/- 2.3 percentage points."
