Close to half of Republicans have no problem with leaders who choose to praise Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a poll.
A Quinnipiac University poll noted, “Some politicians and media figures have had words of praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin in the last several weeks.”
It asked respondents, “Does that make you view those individuals more favorably, less favorably, or doesn’t it affect your opinion of those individuals?”
Fifty-seven percent of all respondents said they view individuals who praise Putin less favorably compared to 36% who said it does not affect their opinion of the individuals. Only 2% view the individuals more favorably.
Among Republicans, 45% view the individuals less favorably while 46% are not affected by their decision to praise Putin.
When it comes to Democrats, 81% view them less favorably. Only 16% said it does not affect their opinion.
Majority approve of #NATO decision not to enforce no-fly zone; public figures in U.S. praising Putin are viewed negatively https://t.co/neY0k9RkVQ #UkraineRussia
— Quinnipiac University Poll (@QuinnipiacPoll) March 16, 2022
Some Republicans have appeared to praise Putin amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including former President Donald Trump.
During an interview on the “Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show” last month, Trump said, “I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius.’ Putin declares a big portion … of Ukraine, Putin declares it as independent.”
He added, “So, Putin is now saying, ‘It’s independent,’ a large section of Ukraine. I said, ‘How smart is that?’ And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s [the] strongest peace force.”
Trump later defended his praise of Putin during the Conservative Political Action Conference.
“The problem is not that Putin is smart, which, of course, he’s smart,” Trump said. “The problem is that our leaders are dumb… and so far, allowed him to get away with this travesty and assault on humanity.”
Fox News’s Tucker Carlson has also previously questioned why Putin is so hated, as IJR previously reported.
“Why do I hate Putin so much? Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him? Has he shipped every middle class job in my town to Russia? Did he manufacture a worldwide pandemic that wrecked my business and kept me indoors for two years?” Carlson asked.
He added, “Is he teaching my children to embrace racial discrimination? Is he making fentanyl? Is he trying to snuff out Christianity? Does he eat dogs? These are fair questions, and the answer to all of them is no. Vladimir Putin didn’t do any of that.”