Joe Biden’s approval rating as president of the United States has plummeted to an all-time low following the haphazard withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan last month, which coincided with a lightning-fast Taliban offensive that gave the insurgents control of the country’s state apparatus. According to a new Marist National Poll conducted in collaboration with NPR and PBS Newshour, US President Joe Biden’s approval rating has dropped to 43%, the lowest level since he took office. The majority of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of foreign policy, and a significant portion of the population has labelled the US role in Afghanistan a “failure.”
While Joe Biden’s approval rating as the US president is currently at 43 per cent, about 56 per cent of Americans disapprove of his handling of foreign policy. Around 61 per cent of the populace is against the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, the data published by Marist Poll reveals. Although Americans are not sure about what exactly should have happened in Afghanistan, a large majority (around 71 per cent) say that United States’ role was a “failure”, the poll said.
Seventy-one percent of Americans agree, including 73 percent of Republicans and 66 percent of Democrats, a large majority, implying major divisions within Biden’s own party. Around 75% of independent politicians are represented in this section.
However, a large majority of Americans (61%) believe Afghanistan “must determine its own future without US involvement,” while 29% believe it is the US’ “duty” to remain involved in the war-torn country’s affairs.
When Americans were asked how they thought the US should have handled the Afghanistan situation, they had a wide range of responses. While 37% believe that all US troops should have been withdrawn, 38% believe that some troops should have been withdrawn and others should have remained. A smaller percentage of people believe that no troops should have been withdrawn (10%) or that more troops should have been sent (5 per cent).
Finally, the poll revealed that Americans do not believe Biden bears sole responsibility for the situation in Afghanistan. Overall, 36% of those polled said George W Bush was the most responsible for the ‘failure’ of the Iraq war.
The Ashraf Ghani-led government in Afghanistan was deposed on August 15 as a result of a Taliban blitzkrieg that saw the insurgents seize control of province after province throughout the month, all while the US continued to withdraw its troops, bringing an end to the country’s two-decade-long military mission. Even as critics expressed concern about the deteriorating situation in the country in light of the Taliban offensive, the administration stuck to the August 31 deadline set by Joe Biden.
