Support for US withdrawal from Afghanistan tumbles in new poll

Support for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is falling amid widespread coverage of the Taliban’s takeover of the country, according to a new poll.

The survey, conducted by Morning Consult and Politico between Aug. 13 and Aug. 16, the day after the Taliban completed its takeover of Kabul, found that 49 percent of American voters support President Biden’s decision to pull troops from the country.

That is significantly down from the 69 percent who expressed support for the exit in an April survey by the same firms.

Thirty-seven percent of voters polled in August said they opposed the president’s decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, which was more than double the 16 percent opposition recorded in April.

The new poll comes amid heavy criticism of President Biden’s handling of the exit, particularly from Republicans. Biden defended his decision in a Monday speech while acknowledging surprise at how quickly the Taliban takeover occurred. 

Sixty-nine percent of Democrats approved the president’s decision to pull troops from Afghanistan in the new poll, down from 84 percent in April.

Republican support dropped to 31 percent from 52 percent, while support from independents fell from 66 percent to 41 percent.

Only 25 percent of respondents said the withdrawal was going very well or somewhat well, while 57 percent said it was not going too well or well at all.

Morning Consult and Politico surveyed 1,999 registered voters. The margin or error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.