Americans’ Support For Israel Jumps Up In The Last Month While Democrats Split On Biden’s Handling Of The War: AP Poll

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

A new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that Americans’ view of Israel has improved in the last month, but they remain largely unhappy with President Joe Biden and his handling of the ongoing Israel-Hamas War.

Overall, 63 percent of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of the conflict, while one-third of Americans approve. The poll’s summary noted that’s “in line with his overall job approval: 60% of US adults disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job as president, while 38% approve.”

Approval of Biden is split on party lines as well, with 50 percent of Democrats approving of Biden’s handling of the conflict and 46 percent disapproving. Meanwhile, 80 percent of Republicans disapprove of Biden’s handling of the conflict while only 18 percent approve. “Biden’s support on the issue among Democrats is down slightly from August, as an AP-NORC poll conducted then found that 57% of Democrats approved of his handling of the conflict and 40% disapproved,” noted the polls summary.

While the news for Biden was not great all around regarding the public’s view of his leadership on the issue, Israel got some good news in the poll:

During an August poll, only 32% of Americans described Israel as an ally that shares U.S. interests and values. But that figure increased to 44% in the latest survey, which was conducted after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas that killed 1,400 Israelis.

The poll also found that 40 percent of Americans believe Israel’s response to Hamas in Gaza had “gone too far” while a majority thought it had “been about right” (38%) or “not gone far enough” (18%) – 56 percent combined.

Fifty-eight percent of Democrats said Israel “had gone too far” while 32 percent of Republicans believe Israel had not “gone far enough.”

“Democrats who disapprove of Biden’s handling of the conflict are also more inclined to feel the U.S. government is spending too much on aid to Israel (70% vs. 28%) and too little on humanitarian relief to Palestine (50% vs. 31%) compared to Democrats who approve,” noted the polls summary of the divide among Democrats, adding:

Among Democrats who disapprove of Biden’s handling of the conflict, 56% say the Israeli government has a lot of responsibility while only 32% of those who approve of Biden’s efforts say the same. A similar proportion of Democratic disapprovers (55%) say the Palestinian group Hamas holds a lot of the responsibility, while 76% of those who approve of Biden think Hamas has a lot of responsibility for the war.

The poll was conducted between November 2nd and the 6th among 1,239 adults and carries a 3.9-point margin of error.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!