Feb 10, 2020 - World

Republicans more likely than Democrats to have confidence in Putin

Jacob Knutson

Vladimir Putin on Feb. 6 — Photo: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are 21 points more likely than Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (31% vs. 10%) to express confidence in Russian President Vladimir Putin and his actions in world affairs, according to a global Pew survey.

The big picture: It's the widest partisan gap Pew has recorded on the question, though Republicans' still-low confidence in the Russian leader is largely in line with the sentiment of key U.S. allies around the world.

20% of Americans overall expressed confidence in Putin.
27% of Western Europe expressed confidence in Putin — from 36% in Germany, a key Russian energy ally, to 26% in the U.K.
Only 11% of Ukrainians expressed confidence in the Russian leader.

Methodology: These surveys were conducted in 34 countries from May 13 to Oct. 2, 2019, totaling 38,426 respondents. The surveys were conducted face-to-face across Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and South Asia, and on the phone in North America and in the Asia-Pacific region.

Across Europe, the survey was conducted over the phone in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the U.K., but face-to-face in Central and Eastern Europe, Italy, Ukraine and Russia.

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Republicans more likely than Democrats to have confidence in Putin

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