Ukrainian Navy blows up Russian warships arriving in Berdyansk

More than half of Americans think Joe Biden has been too lenient in his response to Russia's invading Ukraine, a new poll revealed Thursday as the president met with allies in Brussels on the continuing attack.

Of the 1,082 American adults surveyed, 56 percent say Biden's response to Russia's invasion hasn't been 'tough enough' and 36 percent say it has been 'about right' – the remainder felt the response was 'too tough'.

A quarter for Republicans than Democrats feel the response has been too soft.

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released Tuesday shows 68 percent of Republicans polled want Biden to be tougher on Russia while 43 percent of Democrats feel the same.

President Biden is in Brussels this week meeting with key allies in order to coordinate a stronger response to Russia's monthlong assault on Ukraine, but the poll shows Americans have yet to rally around his leadership during this war in Eastern Europe.

Concern about Russia has swelled and support for a major U.S. role in the conflict strengthened in the last month, but Biden's negative approval rating has not budged, according to the poll with only 43 percent of Americans approving of Biden's job as president overall.

Few Americans are very confident that he can handle a crisis, and a majority thinks he lacks toughness in dealing with Russia.

Both overall approval and favorability of his handling of Russia are slightly different from an AP-NORC poll conducted days before the February 24 invasion.

The U.S., along with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies, have tried to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle with sanctions, including freezing foreign assets of Russia's central bank and cutting off its supply to essential war materiel.

But Russia has continued for a month to batter cities in Ukraine with air strikes and artillery, despite a stalled ground invasion.




Over the next three days, the Biden administration aims to work with key European allies on a united strategy to aid Ukraine militarily, increase sanctions on Russia and wrestle with the worsening humanitarian crisis, according to Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.




Biden's visit comes on shaky ground with the American public.

Only about a quarter are very confident that the president has the ability to handle a crisis, promote U.S. standing in the world or effectively manage the U.S. military, though most have at least some confidence.




Even among members of his own party, Biden faces pressure to do more.




The poll, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, shows Democrats are closely divided over the president's response, with 53 percent saying it's 'about right' and 10 per cent less saying he hasn't been harsh enough.

'I understand he's between a rock and a hard place,' said Rachel Collins, a 41-year-old Democrat from Chicago. 'It just feels like Putin's not going to stop at Ukraine.'

Collins, an elementary school teacher, said she feels like she's watching history unfolding yet again.

'How many years are we gonna watch this happen and then have to step in anyway?' she added. 'It just feels inevitable and, in the meantime, we're just watching all these people suffer.'

While support for a major U.S. role has grown since last month, from 26 percent to 40 percent, Biden faces a tightrope walk to avoid war and to curb the impact on the American people. The poll shows close to half of Americans are 'extremely' or 'very' concerned about being drawn into war with Russia.

Biden has repeatedly said that he will not send American troops to Ukraine, though some have been deployed to neighboring NATO countries.

'I think that he's doing the right thing and being cautious, but it's really hard when you're watching and reading about these stories day to day,' Collins said. 'More aggressive at where we are means putting troops on the ground, and I don't necessarily know if that's the answer either.'

'Then, you know, there'll be people saying `why are we putting troops in there,´' she added.

While Republicans are less likely than Democrats to support the U.S. having a major role in Russia's war, most also say they think Biden's response has not been tough enough.

'He's scared,' said David Stoddard, a retired border patrol agent in Sierra Vista, Arizona. 'He's scared of Putin. He's scared of (China's) Xi (Jinping). He's scared of everything.'

Stoddard, 76, would prefer somebody like former President Donald Trump over Biden to tell Putin 'that Putin may have a red button but the United States´ red button is bigger,' he said.

Stoddard thinks there's more Biden could be doing to strengthen sanctions and support Ukraine militarily, including transferring Polish MiG fighter jets to Ukraine from a NATO air base in Germany, which the Pentagon declined to do earlier in March. The administration has said it is determined to avoid further action that could be seen as escalatory by Putin.




Majorities of Republicans and Democrats alike said they approve of economic sanctions imposed on Russia in general and on the ban on Russian oil in particular, according to the poll. But while 77 percent of Democrats approve of how Biden is handling the relationship with Russia, just 12 percent of Republicans do.




While some Democrats acknowledged thinking that Biden could be doing more, many are confident in him to do what's best for the country.




'I'm sure there's more that he could do,' said Chris Hollander, a research assistant in Denver. 'But as far as being tough, he's not a pushover.'




Listening to the intelligence community and getting NATO countries to work together reflect Biden's 'behind the scenes' leadership, Hollander, 33, said. 'I think he's threading a needle.'