1. “Biden didn’t spend much time explaining why Americans should care about the deadly war in Eastern Europe, although he did warn that the country faces risks both economically and militarily.” —Punchbowl News
2. According to polling by Morning Consult, after the invasion, 66% of Americans have an unfavorable view of Russia. While that figure comes from polling between February 21 and 27, a poll taken February 14 to 20 had that number at 58%. It is worth noting the U.S. has the lowest unfavourability view of Russia among any of the countries polled: France, 68%; Germany, 74%; UK, 77%; Italy, 69%; Spain, 67%; Australia, 68%; Japan, 76%; South Korea, 75%.
3. In a survey conducted February 1-17 by Gallup World Affairs, 51% of Americans think the U.S. has the number-one military in the world. Gallup noted that it was conducted prior to the Russian invasion and that it isn’t clear whether that a post-invasion poll have had an effect on the results, given that the U.S. military is not on the ground there.
So what does this mean? It means that the consequences of the Trump administration still resonate, particularly (a) his “American first” rhetoric and (b) his bombast about the military.
Why would it have been necessary for Biden to explain to us why Americans should care about a democracy being invaded by a leader who is a foe of the American way of life? Despite what people have been led to believe by Trump’s undoubtedly one-sided chumminess with Putin, that guy is attacking Ukraine because it is becoming too Westernized, a.k.a., becoming more like America. That needs to be explained to us? Citizens of other Western or Westernized countries don’t have that issue to the extent that American citizens seem to.
Remember Trump talking about supporting the military (and his diminution of the leaders of the military because he, of course, claimed to be smarter than they are)? While 51% is better than 49%, it isn’t all that impressive. While Biden has been in office for more than a year, odds are that had Trump done as much for the military as he often claimed, those effects wouldn’t have disappeared in the last year.
Strange how we no longer know who our enemy is and that we consider our military to be #1 — but by a small edge. (Here’s something to consider: the U.S. FY ’21 military budget: $705 billion. The Russian spending? -- $65 billion.)
--Gary S. Vasilash
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