The Fallout That Wasn’t

On February 28th, 2025, President Zelenskyy met with President Trump, Vice President Vance and other members of the President’s cabinet in the Oval Office to discuss a potential deal that would allow the US to invest in valuable Ukrainian minerals—the meeting, which was open to the press, was meant as the precursor to the deal’s signing.

The meeting devolved after its first forty minutes, ending with President Trump, Vice President Vance and President Zelelskyy in an unprecedented contentious exchange. When President Zelenskyy was whisked away from the White House in an SUV, the deal was left unsigned, and the foundations of the transatlantic alliance thrown into question.

This tense exchange represented a significant shift in the dynamics of the Ukraine-Russia war, and for the world order more broadly. Because More in Common has country teams in many of the nations impacted, the organization sprang into action to conduct a cross-country comparative poll. We wanted to know how people in the US and in the European countries where we work (UK, Poland, France, and Germany) were feeling about the war, Ukraine, Russia, and the responsibilities of each country’s leaders to meet the moment. Below are the key takeaways from our US findings. For comparative insights across all 5 countries, see “Country Comparisons.”

Key US Takeaways

1. Americans across party lines share common understanding of the war and sympathy for Ukraine.

• Americans are 20 times more likely to sympathize with Ukraine than Russia.
• 8 in 10 Americans say Putin is a dictator, and 6 in 10 believe Russia alone is responsible for the war.

2. Partisanship shapes views on the Feb. 28 White House meeting between President Trump and President Zelenskyy, but overall, Americans have grown more sympathetic to Ukraine since then.

• Americans are twice as likely to have become more sympathetic (38%) to Ukraine than less sympathetic (18%), although the reaction differs by party. 
• Similarly, twice as many Americans (43%) say Trump and Vance were more disrespectful than Zelenskyy (22%). 
• Importantly, only 13% of Americans think the meeting meant that America should “stop helping Ukraine.” 

3. A majority of Americans across parties remain firmly committed to supporting Ukraine.

• Only a quarter of Americans think the US should stop supporting Ukraine now and only one fifth believe the US should engage in 1-1 peace talks with Russia without involving Ukraine.
• Most Americans (67%), including a majority of Republicans (65%), believe that the US should keep sending aid to Ukraine until an end to the war has been established or negotiated, and nearly half support sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine.

4. Most Americans remain skeptical of Russia’s commitment to peace.

• Less than one third of Americans (28%) think Russia would honor a ceasefire agreement. 
• 3 in 5 Americans think Russia will invade other parts of Europe in the coming years and are fearful of a coming war in Europe.