Polling released this week from Quinnipiac and Washington Post/ABC underscore the ongoing damage to Trump and the GOP over their continued obsession with the border wall.
As Trump’s overall approval ratings decline, more Americans now trust congressional Democrats to handle border security issues than Trump and the country overwhelmingly wants elected officials to avoid another shutdown over wall funding.
Quinnipiac Poll (see question trends over time here)
- Voters trust congressional Democrats more than President Trump on border security issues by a margin of 50-41 percent (Independents trust Democrats by a 50-37 breakdown). In a mid-January Quinnipiac poll, the overall margin on this question was a more narrow 49-44 percent.
- Overwhelming opposition to another government shutdown over border wall funding: By a 68-26 percent margin, voters oppose shutting down the government to make sure the border wall receives funding (Independents oppose at 61-30). Opposition has grown since mid-January, when it was a narrower 63-32 margin.
- By 75-14 percent, voters think immigration is good for America. 75 percent of voters say immigration is good for the country, while just 14 percent say immigration is bad – this at a time that Stephen Miller and President Trump are peddling falsehoods and fear-mongering over immigrants. Of note, even Republicans think immigration is good for America, by a 60-25 percent margin.
- By more than 2:1, voters oppose a potential Trump emergency declaration to build the wall by a 66-29 percent margin (73-26 opposition among Independents).
- Trump’s approval rating in general and on immigration are both slipping. Trump’s job approval in general was underwater at 38-57 percent compared to 41- 55 in mid-January. Trump’s handling of immigration is also trending down, now at 38-59 negative approval compared to 41-56 in mid-January.
- Border wall unpopular and voters reject Trump justifications: The border wall remains unpopular, with voters opposing building a wall by a 55-41 margin. Voters also don’t think a wall would significantly decrease violent crime (64-33 percent say it would not) or the amount of illegal drugs in the U.S. (60-37 percent say it would not) – two staples of Trump and GOP messaging justifications for the wall.
- Trump/GOP blamed for recent shutdown. By 56-34 percent margin, voters hold Trump and Republicans in Congress responsible for the government shutdown instead of Democrats (Independents blame Trump/GOP by 59-29).
- Trump’s approval has declined to 38-58 percent 49 percent of Americans disapprove “strongly.” In the January 11 poll, Trump’s net negatives were 40-53 percent.
- Americans trust congressional Democrats over Trump and congressional GOP to handle border security issues 42-40 percent, and “illegal immigration” 47-42 percent.
- Americans blame Trump and GOP over Democrats for the shutdown by 53-34 percent.
- Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of shutdown by 60-34 percent.
- Voters oppose the border wall by 54-42 percent.
The findings and implications of the polls are consistent with other recent polling on the subject (see here for a recent America’s Voice recap of polling)
