As President Joe Biden faces heat over withdrawing United States (US) troops from Afghanistan and subsequently leading the country into the hands of the Taliban, his approval rating dropped by 7 percentage points, the lowest in seven months since he assumed office, according to a poll conducted by Reuters/Ipsos.
In the poll conducted on Monday, 16 August, 46 percent of American adults approved of Biden's performance in office, down from 53 percent last Friday.
However, majority of the voters (Republicans and Democrats) said the ongoing chaos was a sign that the US should leave Afghanistan.
Biden's approval in terms of the Afghanistan war, in fact, stood lower than former President George W Bush, who had ordered the Afghanistan invasion in 2001.
Here are a few highlights from the poll:
A snap poll found that fewer than half of the Americans liked Biden's diplomatic efforts in Afghanistan. About 44 percent of the respondents said they thought Biden had done a “good job” in Afghanistan.
75 percent supported sending in additional troops to secure key facilities in Afghanistan until the withdrawal was complete.
75 percent supported the evacuation of Afghans who had helped the US forces in the country.
68 percent Americans in the 18-65 age group agreed that the war “was going to end badly, no matter when the US left".
61 percent wanted withdrawal of the US troops to be completed on schedule.
51 percent found it worth it for the US to leave the troops in Afghanistan for another year.
50 percent wanted to send troops back into the country to fight the Taliban.
6/10 Republicans and 7/10 Democrats agreed that the Afghan government's swift surrender was evidence why the US should get out of the conflict.
51 percent praised former presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama's handling of the war.
About 47 percent Americans felt that Bush had done a good job in Afghanistan.
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