Poll: Majority Say Afghanistan Evacuation Handled ‘Badly,’ Blame President Biden

A majority of Americans say the U.S. evacuations from Afghanistan were handled poorly and place the bulk of the blame on President Biden, an Economist/YouGov survey released Thursday found.

The survey asked respondents to describe the way the evacuation from Afghanistan has been handled. Overall, 64 percent indicated it was handled badly, and of those, 43 percent said it was handled “very badly.”  Only 23 percent said it was handled well, and of those, only five percent said “very well.”

Even a plurality of Democrats, 48 percent, indicated it went badly, as did 85 percent of Republicans and 71 percent of independents.

Respondents were also presented with a series of options and asked “Who is responsible for that? Check all that apply.”

The largest percentage, 63 percent, said President Biden is responsible, followed by 46 percent who placed blame on the Biden administration’s advisers. One-third said the responsibly lies on the former Afghan government, while 31 percent said the Afghan army, and 28 percent said the U.S. military.

Notably, 87 percent of Republicans placed blame on Biden, as did 70 percent of independents and 46 percent of Democrats.

Overall, 63 percent said that the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan is a threat to the U.S. A majority of Republicans (84 percent), Democrats (58 percent), and independents (57 percent) agree with that sentiment.

How would you describe the way the evacuation from Afghanistan
has been handled?

Well 23%
Badly 64%
.
Who is responsible for that? Check all that apply.

Biden 63%
Administration’s advisers 46%
U.S. military 28%
Afghan army 31%
Former Afghan government 33%

.@YouGovAmerica

— Political Polls (@Politics_Polls) September 2, 2021

The survey, taken August 28-31 among 1,500 U.S. adult citizens, has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.

This week, following the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Biden admitted his administration left Americans behind.

“Now we believe that about 100 to 200 Americans remain in Afghanistan with some intention to leave. Most of those that remain are dual citizens, longtime residents who had earlier decided to stay because of their family roots in Afghanistan,” he said.

“The bottom line: Ninety percent of Americans in Afghanistan who wanted to leave were able to leave. And for those remaining Americans, there is no deadline. We remain committed to get them out if they want to come out, he added.

More than 30 California children likely remain stranded in the Taliban-controlled country, days after the U.S. withdrawal, according to California school board officials.