Poll: 73 percent support US withdrawal from Afghanistan

An overwhelming majority of voters support the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, a new Hill-HarrisX poll finds.

Seventy-three percent of registered voters in the July 2-3 survey said they support removing U.S. troops from Afghanistan, a number that has remained steady from an April 2021 poll conducted by Hill/HarrisX. 

Thirty-two percent of voters said they strongly support the move, while 42 percent said they somewhat support the decision.

By contrast, 27 percent of respondents said they oppose the decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, including 7 percent who strongly oppose and 20 percent who somewhat oppose.

A majority of voters across party lines support the removal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

Eighty-one percent of Democrats said they support the decision, down from 90 percent in April, while 19 percent said they oppose the decision.

Seventy-seven percent of independents voters support the removal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, up from 72 percent in April, while 23 percent said they do not support the move.

Sixty-one percent of Republicans support the decision to remove troops from Afghanistan, up from 54 percent in April, while 39 percent said they oppose the withdrawal.

The latest survey comes after President Biden defended his decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan Thursday.  

Biden confirmed the U.S. military mission will end on Aug. 31, ahead of his initial Sept. 11 deadline, concluding a war that spanned two decades.

“Let me ask those who want us to stay: How many more? How many thousands more Americans’ daughters and sons are you willing to risk? How long would you have them stay?” Biden said during an impassioned speech from the White House East Room.

The most recent Hill-HarrisX poll was conducted online among 926 registered voters. It has a margin of error of 3.22 percentage points.

—Gabriela Schulte