Survey: Support For Border Wall Jumps; More American Blame Trump For Shutdown

Support for a proposed border wall has increased since January 2018, even as more Americans are blaming President Donald Trump for the partial shutdown, according to a Washington Post poll published Sunday.

Trump’s wall is winning adherents as support has increased over the past year. Nearly 42 percent of subjects say they support a wall, which is up from 34 percent currently last year. Slightly more than half of Americans (54 percent) oppose the idea, down from a high of 63 percent in 2018.

The debate is a partisan one, the poll shows. Nearly 27 percent of the 54 percent of people who oppose the wall say Democrats should continue to resist Trump’s demands for $5.4 billion for the barrier, while another 23 percent believe Democratic lawmakers should compromise. Democrats appear more willing to compromise.

Slightly more than 42 percent of Democrats who oppose the wall say lawmakers should resist, while 37 percent say they should be more conciliatory. About 58 percent Republicans support the wall and say Trump should demand funding, compared with 22 percent who say he should cave on the barrier.

Trump should refrain from championing the new level of support, however, as the poll notes areas of concern for the president. For instance, more than half of Americans (53 percent) say Trump and the Republicans are at fault for the government shutdown, and 29 percent blame the Democrats in Congress.

The president told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that the shutdown could last nearly a year. The WaPo-ABC poll was conducted Jan. 8-11 among a random sample of 788 Americans – the results had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.