Majority of voters say Biden is unable to handle issues with Russia, China: poll

A majority of voters in a new poll say President Biden is unable to handle growing issues with Russia and China as tensions rise with the two countries.

Fifty-four percent of registered voters in the latest Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey, which was released exclusively to The Hill, said Biden is not able to “handle difficult international issues like defending Ukraine from the Russians and protecting Taiwan from China,” while 46 percent said he is able to tackle the problems. 

The poll comes amid spiking tensions with both Moscow and Beijing.

The U.S and NATO allies are trying to deter Russia from invading Ukraine after it amassed more than 100,000 troops on its border. Negotiations have thus far failed to come to an agreement to reverse the buildup, and the State Department has started evacuating diplomats’ families from the embassy in Kyiv, a sign that worries over an invasion are growing.

The Biden administration and allies have threatened severe economic repercussions if Russia invades, though the appetite for a military conflict appears low.

Meanwhile, China has grown increasingly aggressive toward Taiwan, an autonomous island backed by the U.S. that Beijing considers its own.

On Sunday, Taiwan reported that it warned away 39 Chinese aircraft flying toward it. The flights marked the largest incursion of China’s air force in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) since October.

Biden has vowed to continue supporting Taiwan, though in November he had to walk back comments that the U.S. would come to the island’s defense if attacked by China. 

“Biden’s problems accelerated with the failure of the Afghanistan pullout that has only about 30 per cent approval. A majority of voters doubt he is up to dealing with Putin and an annexation of more territory in the Ukraine would likely cement his image as a weak president,” said pollster Mark Penn.

The Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey of 1,815 registered voters was conducted from Jan. 19-20. It is a collaboration of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and the Harris Poll. 

The survey is an online sample drawn from the Harris Panel and weighted to reflect known demographics. As a representative online sample, it does not report a probability confidence interval.