Fox News Poll Reveals: Americans Urge Stronger Stand in Ukraine While Holding the Line on Israel

By: Jerome Brookshire

In a political environment shaped by intensifying global conflicts, a newly released Fox News survey underscores the shifting attitudes of the American electorate toward two of the world’s most volatile crises: Israel’s war with Hamas and Ukraine’s struggle against Russia. Conducted between September 6 and 9, 2025, the poll of 1,004 registered voters reveals a striking divergence—Americans broadly continue to support Israel but at increasingly diminished levels, while enthusiasm for bolstering Ukraine’s war effort is climbing to heights unseen in over a year.

According to the information provided in the Fox News report, the most remarkable finding is that sympathy for the Palestinians has reached a record high of 41 percent—an increase of nine points since March and a dramatic 23-point surge since October 2023, in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas massacres that launched the war. This shift marks the highest level of support for Palestinians recorded in the network’s polling history.

While 55 percent of respondents continue to side with Israel, the share has remained essentially flat since January, and significantly below the post-October 7 peak of 68 percent. The erosion in support has been mirrored by a steady expansion of sympathy for Palestinians across the political spectrum.

As Fox News detailed, the jump is most pronounced among independents (+15 points since March) and Republicans (+6 points), but the strongest backing for Palestinians emerges from traditional progressive constituencies: 67 percent of voters under age 30, 67 percent of very liberal voters, 59 percent of Democrats, and 55 percent of non-White voters.

This demographic realignment reflects broader generational and ideological divides that Fox News analysts argue have hardened since the Gaza war began. Younger voters, in particular, are shaping a discourse increasingly critical of Israel’s military operations, even as older Americans remain staunchly pro-Israel.

The survey also probed views on Washington’s role in the conflict. A plurality of 43 percent believes U.S. support for Israel is “about right,” up eight points from last year. Yet 35 percent—14 points more than those who think the U.S. is “not supportive enough”—say American backing goes too far.

Partisanship drives these perceptions. Half of Democrats think U.S. support is excessive, whereas six in ten Republicans say it is appropriately calibrated. Independents are split: 39 percent say it is too supportive, 27 percent believe it is insufficient, and 34 percent call it “about right.”

Still, the Fox News report highlighted a paradox: even as many Americans express reservations about the scale of U.S. support, majorities continue to hold both Hamas and Israel responsible for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Eight in ten voters say Hamas bears responsibility for famine conditions, while 68 percent also blame Israel to varying degrees. Among Democrats, blame is nearly evenly distributed (81 percent Israel, 78 percent Hamas), whereas Republicans (85 percent Hamas, 57 percent Israel) and independents (71 percent Hamas, 64 percent Israel) tilt more heavily against Hamas.

If attitudes toward Israel reveal an incremental drift, opinions about Ukraine have experienced a sharp reversal. According to Fox News, by a 10-point margin, voters now favor doing more to support Ukraine against Russia (39 percent more vs. 29 percent less), while 31 percent believe the current effort is adequate.

The finding represents a stunning turnaround from one year ago, when Americans favored doing “less” by a 17-point margin (40 percent less, 23 percent more, 34 percent about right). The resurgence is largely driven by Democrats (+30 points) and independents (+18 points), while Republican opinion has shifted toward believing the U.S. is already doing the right amount (+19 points).

The surge in support reflects not only shifting battlefield dynamics but also, as Fox News suggests, renewed fears that Russian expansionism could threaten NATO allies. The polling underscores a re-emergence of bipartisan sentiment that U.S. credibility is tied to Ukraine’s survival, even as partisan divides remain acute on Israel.

President Donald Trump, who has sought to personally mediate between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has yet to reap significant political dividends from his diplomatic overtures. As Fox News noted, Trump’s approval on Ukraine stands at 40 percent (59 percent disapprove), marginally better than his handling of Russia (36 percent approve, 62 percent disapprove) but still decisively negative.

Overall, 46 percent of voters approve of Trump’s job performance, while 54 percent disapprove. Despite his assertive foreign policy rhetoric—including high-profile calls with both Putin and Zelenskyy—the president’s ratings underscore the difficulty of navigating two foreign wars simultaneously, particularly as the U.S. electorate grows wary of overextension abroad.

The Fox News poll, conducted under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), included interviews with 1,004 registered voters randomly drawn from a national voter file. Respondents were surveyed through a combination of live landline calls (119), cellphone interviews (638), and online surveys via text invitations (247). The poll carries a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points.

As Fox News consistently emphasizes, the results also reflect the potential impact of question wording, order, and subgroup variability. Weighting adjustments were applied to age, race, education, and region to ensure representativeness, drawing on data from the American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter files.

The results place Washington policymakers in a delicate position. For Israel, the enduring majority support signals continued resilience of America’s long-standing alliance, yet the record-high sympathy for Palestinians—especially among young voters and minorities—foreshadows a generational clash that could complicate bipartisan consensus in the years ahead.

For Ukraine, the opposite trend suggests that skepticism about U.S. involvement has softened considerably, paving the way for renewed military and financial assistance packages. As Fox News reports, the polling demonstrates a durable base of public support for maintaining, and even expanding, the U.S. commitment to Kyiv’s defense.

Ultimately, the latest Fox News poll paints a portrait of a deeply divided electorate grappling with moral, strategic, and humanitarian dilemmas. On one front, Americans remain broadly supportive of Israel’s right to defend itself, even as sympathy for Palestinians rises to historic levels. On another, they increasingly see Ukraine’s survival as a test of America’s global leadership.

Whether these trends will harden into lasting partisan divides or evolve as battlefield developments unfold remains uncertain. But as Fox News reported, the numbers reveal one undeniable fact: Americans are recalibrating their views of two wars that have reshaped the global order, and their judgments will continue to shape the political and diplomatic choices facing Washington in the months ahead.