With Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign set to lean heavily on a strategy of race-baiting and nativism, a new AP/NORC poll is the latest reminder that a hefty majority of the American public strongly disapproves of Trump’s handling of both race relations and immigration issues.
Race relations
When asked “do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling race relations?” the AP/NORC poll finds:
- 33-65% disapproval among all Americans
- 43-55% disapproval among whites, 16-83% disapproval among Hispanics, and 5-92% disapproval among African-Americans.
Immigration
When asked “do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling immigration?” the AP/NORC poll finds:
- 40-59% disapproval among all Americans
- 48-51% disapproval among whites, 22-76% disapproval among Hispanics, and 15-82% disapproval among African-Americans.
The following is a statement from Douglas Rivlin, Director of Communication at America’s Voice:
Trump’s ugly and divisive political strategy may get cheers from his rally crowds, but it is deeply unpopular with the broader public. Trump’s xenophobia backfired badly in the 2018 midterms and there’s no evidence that his 2020 embrace of race-baiting and nativism will work any better.
As Greg Sargent, writing in the Washington Post, noted earlier this summer: “There is a puzzling tendency among pundits to ascribe Trump magical powers on this issue, simply by virtue of his 2016 victory, which has left them in a defensive crouch. But the difference now is that voters have actually seen Trump’s immigration horrors in practice — and are recoiling.”
