President Donald Trump speaks with reporters after addressing troops via video from his Mar-a-Lago estate on Thanksgiving, November 27, in Palm Beach,…Read More | (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
U.S. President Donald Trump has been hit with a negative poll about his plan to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
According to polling by YouGov, the majority of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the conflict, as the U.S. continues its latest push to try to broker a lasting peace deal between the two countries.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment via email outside normal business hours.
One of Trump’s pledges during the 2024 presidential campaign was to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office, but efforts to do so have thus far failed. Last week, details of the U.S.’s 28-point plan to end the war were disclosed, but some lawmakers raised concerns that it was too conciliatory to Russia, leading to alterations.
Meanwhile, a leaked call from October showed Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff coaching top Kremlin officials on how to pitch a Russian plan for ending the war to the U.S. president, which drew further scrutiny.
YouGov’s survey of 4,058 U.S. adults, conducted on November 26, found that 46 percent of Americans disapproved of Trump’s handling of the conflict, while 36 percent approved. Of those who disapproved, 36 percent strongly disapproved.
The polling division fell on party lines, with 72 percent of Republicans approving of Trump’s handling of the war and 79 percent of Democrats disapproving.
August polling showed that 59 percent of U.S. adults were not confident that Trump could make “wise decisions” when it came to the war. This polling was conducted three months before Trump’s peace plan was announced.
Last week, the Trump administration outlined a 28-point plan that suggested Ukraine should give up the eastern Donbas region and shrink its army and weaponry to end the war that Russia began.
The Kremlin is also demanding that Ukraine does not join NATO, and the plan is still being reworked as both sides work to ensure their strategic and diplomatic priorities are met.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, commenting on the latest iteration of Trump’s peace plan, said in an address on Tuesday: “The principles in this document can be developed into deeper agreements. And it is in our shared interest that security is real. I count on continued active cooperation with the American side and President Trump. Much depends on the United States because it’s America’s strength that Russia takes most seriously.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters on Wednesday that Russia would not make significant concessions in any peace plan:”There can be no question of any concessions, or any surrender of our approaches to those key points.”
Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement last week: “This so-called ‘peace plan’ has real problems, and I am highly skeptical it will achieve peace.”
Republican Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska wrote on X on Tuesday: “For those who oppose the Russian invasion and want to see Ukraine prevail as a sovereign & democratic country, it is clear that Witkoff fully favors the Russians. He cannot be trusted to lead these negotiations. Would a Russian paid agent do less than he? He should be fired.”
Witkoff is set to hold talks at the Kremlin next week as the administration works toward finalizing a deal. (Newsweek)