U.S. voters say it is more important to get Americans out of Afghanistan first, a Rasmussen Reports survey released Monday found.
The survey asked, “Now that the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan, how important is it that the U.S. government help American citizens get out of Afghanistan?”
The vast majority, 96 percent, said it is “very” or “somewhat” important. Of those, 86 percent said it is “very” important for the U.S. government to get American citizens out of the country. A majority across the board — Republicans, Democrats, and independent voters — agreed.
The survey also asked respondents about the importance of the U.S. government helping Afghanistan refugees who want to escape the Taliban. While a majority, 82 percent, said it is at least somewhat important, it falls short of the overwhelming majority who expressed the view that the U.S. government should help American citizens. Of the 82 percent who said it is important for the U.S. to help Afghanistan refugees, 50 percent said it is “very” important — 36 percent less than those who said the same about American citizens.
Additionally, Rasmussen Reports asked respondents to identify the number of refugees from Afghanistan the U.S. government should allow to resettle in America. A plurality, 30 percent, said fewer than 10,000, while 22 percent said between 10,000 and 50,000. Twelve percent said between 50,000 and 100,0000, and 14 percent said “more than” 100,000. Nearly a quarter, 23 percent, said they were unsure.
TOPSHOT – Afghans gather on a roadside near the military part of the airport in Kabul on August 20, 2021, hoping to flee from the country after the Taliban’s military takeover of Afghanistan. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)
The survey, taken August 18-19, 2021, among 1,000 likely U.S. voters, has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
According to U.S. officials, only 2,500 Americans were among the 17,000 individuals evacuated from Kabul last week.
On Saturday, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul issued a security alert, advising U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and “to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a U.S. government representative to do so.” The warning contradicted President Joe Biden’s Friday claim of there being “no circumstance” of Americans unable to access the Kabul airport.
