An ABC/Washington Post poll released today shows that the government shutdown is blamed on the GOP and President Trump, and there’s no real crisis at the Southern Border. It also shows that the notion of a southern border wall is gaining traction, especially amongst conservatives and whites.
The government shutdown, largely over Trump’s insistence for funding for a wall along the entire southern border of the United States, has become the longest such shutdown in US history.
Pollsters found that 53% of those surveyed feel that Trump and the GOP are mainly to blame for the shutdown, with only 29% placing the blame largely on the Democrat’s shoulders. An additional 13% feel both are equally to blame.
Of course, the views are split along party lines, with those identify as Democrat or liberal blaming Trump and the GOP 85% and 78% respectively, with 68% of Republicans and 50% of conservatives blaming congressional Democrats.
While 79% of those polled feel that the shutdown would be a serious issue if it were allowed to continue for months, only 18% said that they were personally affected.
As to whether or not we face a real crisis at the southern border with Mexico, only 24% of those asked felt things were at crises levels — and that number remained less than 50% even for those who otherwise supported the construction of a border wall.
That said, just under half still felt that southern border was a “serious problem,” rather than a “crisis” — and this was largely consistent whether the person supported the wall or not.
The majority still opposes the wall, but support for the project has risen. 42% of those surveyed would be willing to see the wall built, which is up from just 34% a year ago. Opposition is likewise down, now at 54%, versus 63% a year ago.
Wall support is, perhaps unsurprisingly, highest among Republicans and conservatives, for who interest in the project is up and overall 16%. It has also surged among white voters, gaining 10% in the past year.
Even with that increase in support, 66% overall oppose the president invoking emergency powers to force its construction, with half of those opposed falling into the :strongly oppose” category.
The survey was conducted from January 8th to 11th, via both landline and cellular phones, and included a random sample of 788 adults.
Image via screen capture from video source.