Poll: Voters Give Obama Worst Grade Ever on Foreign Policy

American voters have handed President Obama his worst grade ever on foreign policy, giving him a 52 percent rating disapproval rating in the latest Quinnipiac University poll data released Thursday morning.

According to the survey of 2,104 registered voters taken June 28 to July 8, only 40 percent of respondents approved of his approach to foreign affairs compared to 52 percent who said they disapproved. The poll also found that 48 percent disapprove of his handling of the Syrian crisis.

His job approval ratings on domestic and foreign policy issues wasn't quite as bad, however, with 48 percent giving him a negative mark compared to 44 percent who still view his job performance positively.

"President Barack Obama is in a slump, under water for the last two surveys," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Still, 50 percent of voters say the president is honest and trustworthy, compared to 40 percent who don't, and 52 percent believe he has strong leadership qualities and that he cares about their needs.

"Generally, voters don't seem happy with some of the president's policies, but they still give him majority support on his personal characteristics such as honesty and leadership," Brown said.

"They also trust Obama more than Republicans 44-38 percent, to fix the economy. This compares to a 43-43 percent split on this measure May 30," he added.

The poll also found that a significant majority of Americans believe it is not in the national interest to send troops into Syria and also oppose arming rebel groups in the conflict. By a margin of 61 percent to 27 percent, respondents said they were opposed to American involvement in Syria. Fifty-nine percent also said they were against arming Syrian rebels, compared to 27 percent who favor it.

But despite that seemingly overwhelming desire to remain apart from the Syrian conflict, the voters still voiced support for using U.S. drone aircraft or cruise missiles to attack Syrian government targets by a margin of 49 percent to 38 percent.

The survey also indicated that Republicans and Democrats seem to be united in their views on Syria.

The survey also found that voters feel strongly — by a margin of 63 percent to 33 percent — that the United States should not negotiate with the Taliban in Afghanistan, although 53 percent said they would favor talks "if such negotiations could end the war in Afghanistan."

At the same time, however, 57 percent of respondents said they disagree with the claim that negotiations with the Taliban will actually get American troops home more quickly.
Concerning terrorism overall, 60 percent of respondents also said the United States should not negotiate with terrorists because it only encourages them.