A majority of Americans think President Trump in too closely aligned with Russia, including more than a quarter of Republicans, a poll released on Thursday found.
The Reuters/Ipsos survey says 56 percent of Americans agreed with the statement that the president is too close to Moscow, which included 27 percent of Republicans and 89 percent of Democrats.
Forty-four percent of Americans support Trump’s plan to condition military aid to Ukraine and the U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal, the poll found. That support included two-thirds of Republicans and one-in-five Democrats.
The poll was conducted over two days this week and completed on Wednesday, amid negotiations over a U.S.-proposed ceasefire deal aimed to end the war in Ukraine.
The administration announced on Tuesday that it would restore military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine following the talks between Secretary of State Rubio and national security adviser Mike Walz and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia. The meeting helped repair relations after the heated Feb. 28 meeting between Trump, Vice President Vance and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.
Trump has come under criticism in recent weeks for calling Zelensky a dictator and suggesting that Russia’s invasion was his fault.
Ukraine agreed to support a ceasefire earlier this week, which put the ball in Russia’s court. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he is open to a 30-day ceasefire, but suggested vague terms for his support.
In his announcement, Putin also thanked Trump “for paying so much attention to the settlement in Ukraine,” according to The Associated Press. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff landed in Moscow to meet with Putin earlier that day.
Trump told reporters at the White House, sitting alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, that he was cautiously optimistic about Putin’s response.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll included 1,422 adults and had a margin of error of three percentage points.
