When former President Trump spoke about the war between Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday night, voters participating in a Fox News focus group had mixed reactions among Republicans, Democrats and independents.
“I want to stop the war. I want to save millions of lives that are being needlessly killed. And I mean millions. It's a lot worse than the numbers you're getting, which are fake numbers. We're going to lose over $250 billion because they won't ask Europe. Europe has a bigger stake in this solution than we do,” Trump said.
When President Trump responded to Europe's role in the war, independents and Republicans in the Fox phone group saw their approval ratings soar, while Democrats' approval ratings fell.
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Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump will face off in the first presidential debate, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. (Getty Images)
“They respect me. They don't respect Biden,” Trump said shortly after. “How can you respect him? Why? Why? He hasn't even called Putin in two years. He hasn't spoken to anybody. They don't even try to understand.”
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“This is a war that has not been decided. I'm going to decide it before I become president. That war should never have happened. In fact, when I met President Putin after I left, I learned that he left because unfortunately the country was going to hell. But when I saw him training soldiers after I left, he did it.”
Former President Donald Trump's approval ratings soared when he warned that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into World War III. (Hannah Beyer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
During Trump's speech, his support among Republicans and Democrats increased as he spoke about resolving the war, but his support among independents decreased.
His approval rating among independents and Republicans soared again when Trump said, “And now millions of people are dead and it's only going to get worse. And it threatens to lead to World War III… We're playing with World War III.”
FOX News Media has proposed a second debate, moderated by Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier.
Vice President Kamala Harris during the second presidential debate at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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While President Trump criticized President Biden, saying, “We have a president who doesn't even know if he's alive,” his approval rating among independents and Republican supporters continued to rise.
