According to a recent poll conducted by The Daily Wire, more US citizens believe that President Joe Biden is to blame for the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, rather than Donald Trump.

The Biden Administration has sought to shift blame for the fallout in Afghanistan, but Americans are unconvinced.

According to a Daily Wire/SurveyMonkey survey:

·         36% feel Biden is to blame for the present Afghan issue

·         21% blame Donald Trump

·         29% believe it is not Trump's or Biden's fault

The poll surveyed 1066 US citizens and found that independents are twice as likely to blame Biden than Trump for the situation in Afghanistan.

Biden and Trump Play Hot Potato (Blame Edition)

Following the fall of the Afghan government, Biden sought to blame Trump for supposedly leaving him with a terrible deal, forcing the present administration to withdraw troops.

During a national speech, Biden accepted full responsibility for his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan while saying that Trump's negotiations compelled him to withdraw US military assistance for the Afghan government.

When Biden took office, his administration inherited an agreement struck by President Trump with the Taliban. According to Trump’s deal, US soldiers would be out of Afghanistan by May 1, 2021 — just over three months after Biden entered president. During the Trump administration, US forces in the country were reduced from around 15,500 to 2,500 soldiers, and the Taliban is at its strongest since 2001.

Later, in an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopolous, Biden stated that he would have pulled US troops from Afghanistan regardless of whether Trump had made such a decision before or not.

“So would you have withdrawn troops like this even if President Trump had not made that deal with the Taliban?” Stephanopolous asked.

Responding to a question on whether he would have withdrawn the troops from Afghanistan if such a decision wasn’t made by Trump, Biden said “I would’ve tried to figure out how to withdraw those troops, yes, because look, George. There is no good time to leave Afghanistan. Fifteen years ago would’ve been a problem, 15 years from now. The basic choice is am I gonna send your sons and your daughters to war in Afghanistan in perpetuity?” 

Moreover, Trump called America's withdrawal from Afghanistan "grossly incompetent" in a press release following Biden's speech. 

Other startling aspects regarding Biden's approval ratings were revealed by the same survey data. Biden's support rating is 47 percent, barely two points higher than his disapproval rating. This new data shows a five-point decrease in Biden's approval rating. 

Biden’s Job Approval 

According to RealClearPolitics, Biden had a job approval rating of 52 percent and a disapproval rating of 43 percent one month ago. The sharp decline in approval occurred in mid-August, around the time Afghanistan surrendered to the Taliban.

Concerns About the Fate of Afghan Women

Other parts of the poll revealed that people are most concerned about the effects of Biden's military pullout on Afghan women and girls, as well as Afghan allies.

According to the study, 84 percent of US citizens are concerned about the repercussions for Afghan women and girls. The implications for the pullout are “extremely concerning” to 63%. Another 81% of the US citizens are concerned about the "persecution of Afghans who assisted American troops and officials." These implications are “extremely concerning” to 53% of this group.