Most Americans don't trust Trump's ability to make wise decisions on Ukraine war

A majority of Americans surveyed ahead of Donald Trump's meeting with Putin do not trust the US president's ability to make wise decisions regarding the war in Ukraine.

According to Politico, the results of a Pew Research Center survey show that almost 60% are "not very confident" or "not at all confident" that Trump can make "wise decisions" regarding the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.

Democrats expressed significantly less confidence in the president's decision-making abilities than Republicans. However, it is noted that Trump has also lost trust among Republicans: 73% are "somewhat" or "very confident" in Trump's ability to handle the war, compared to 81% in July 2024.

Americans are evenly divided on whether the US should help Ukraine defend itself in the war. Moreover, Democrats were much more likely to support US aid to Ukraine. But fewer than one in three Americans see the war as a serious threat to U.S. interests, a sharp drop from 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion.

Americans are now less likely than in March to say that Trump is too supportive of Russia in the war. The shift comes after the U.S. president has shifted his public stance on the war in recent months and become more critical of Russia.

The poll was conducted online and by phone from Aug. 4 to 10 among a random sample of 3,554 adults. The margin of error is approximately 1.8 percentage points.