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CBS NEWS POLL For release: Friday, February 3, 2017 7:00 am EST Country Divides on Travel Ban, Record Low Approval for President Trump
February 1-2, 2017
Two weeks into Donald Trump’s preside
ncy, the country remains sharply divided along partisan lines. A large majority of Republicans approve of President Trump and his recent executive order temporarily restricting entry into the U.S. by foreigners and refugees, while Democrats disapprove in similar numbers.
Slightly more Americans disapprove (51%) than approve (45%) of President Trump’s
executive order that temporarily bans people from entering the U.S. from seven designated countries. Views on temporarily suspending entry for refugees are the same. Opinions on these issues are highly partisan.
The public splits on whether a temporary ban on people from the seven designated countries will make the U.S. safer, but most Republicans (who support the ban) think it will.
On a more positive note for Mr. Trump, more Americans think the Senate should vote to confirm his Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, than vote against him. However, 56%
can’t say at this point.
Republicans and independents are more supportive of Gorsuch than Democrats.
In th
e CBS News Poll’s first measure of Mr. Trump’s job performance as president, 40% of
Americans approve of the job he is doing -- the lowest of any president just after his first inauguration since the Gallup Poll began taking those measures in 1953. 48% disapprove.
President Trump’s Executive Order Restricting Entry to the U.S.
Americans are divided on President Trump’s executive order that temporarily bans foreigners from
entering the U.S. who are from seven majority Muslim countries
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Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen
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though more disapprove (51%) than approve (45%). The partisan differences are striking: 85% of Republicans approve, while an identical 85% of Democrats disapprove.
Temporary Ban on All Foreigners Entering the U.S. from 7 Countries
Total Reps Dems Inds Approve 45% 85% 11% 44% Disapprove 51 12% 85 50 A third of Americans agree with the rationale given by the Trump administration for this measure: that it will make the United States safer from terrorism. 36% of Americans agree that this provision will make the U.S. safer by preventing unwanted people from entering the country, but just as many
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36% - think it will make the U.S. less safe by making people around the world angry at the U.S. Another 22% think it will not have any effect.
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Temporary Ban on All Foreigners Entering the U.S. from 7 Countries Will Make the U.S.
Will…
Total Reps Dems Inds Safer from terrorism 36% 68% 10% 34% Less safe from terrorism 36 9 63 32 No effect 22 17 22 25
Another major provision of Mr. Trump’s executive order is to temporarily prohibit all refugees from
any country from entering the U.S. Here again, Americans are largely divided along party lines, though more Americans disapprove (51%) than approve (45%).
Temporary Ban on All Refugees Entering the U.S.
Total Reps Dems Inds Approve 45% 81% 12% 46% Disapprove 51 14 86 47 57% of Americans think a temporary ban on refugees goes against the founding principles of the United States. Nearl
y seven in 10 Republicans think this ban is in keeping with the country’s
founding principles, while more than eight in 10 Democrats and most independents disagree.
A Temporary Ban on All Refugees Entering the U.
S. Is…
Total Reps Dems Inds In kee
ping with the U.S.’s founding principles
35% 68% 10% 33%
Against the U.S.’s founding principles
57 23 85 56
Religion, the Travel Ban, and Views of Islam
President Trump signaled that Christians might receive preference when it comes to assessing whether travelers affected by the ban would be allowed to enter the U.S., but most Americans reject this as a grounds for allowing immigration into the country. 88% of Americans - and 87% of American Christians - think the government should treat all potential immigrants the same regardless of religion.
In Deciding Which Immigrants to admit to the U.S….
Total Christians Priority should be given to Christians 8% 9%
Religion shouldn’t matter
88 87 The seven countries singled out by the executive order all have Muslim majority populations. Some critics of the executive order have characterized the executive order as a Muslim ban, a charge the administration has denied. In principle, three in four Americans would oppose a ban on all Muslims from entering the U.S.
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including large majorities of Democrats (92%) and independents (75%), and a slight majority of Republicans (55%).
Should the U.S. Temporarily Ban All Muslims from Entering the U.S.?
Total Reps Dems Inds Should ban 19% 38% 6% 18% Should not ban 75 55 92 75 And despite strong language before the election by the Trump campaign about the threat of violence
from radical Islam, most Americans don’t believe that the Islamic religion as a whole is more violent
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than other religions. More than six in 10 Republicans think Islam is more violent than other religions, while most Democrats and independents think Islam is no different than other religions.
The Islamic Religion Encourages Violence…
Total Reps Dems Inds More than other religions 33% 63% 14% 28% Less than other religions 6 2 9 5 Same amount 50 25 66 53
President Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee
Most Americans are taking a wait and see approach on the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court
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56%
can’t say at this point whether or not he should be confirmed.
Still, more say Judge Gorsuch should be confirmed than not. Democrats are three times as likely to think the Senate should vote against Judge Gorsuch rather than for him, but about six in 10
don’t have an opinion yet.
Most Republicans want him confirmed. Among independents with an opinion, more would like to Judge Gorsuch confirmed than not.
Should Senate Vote to Confirm Neil Gorsuch?
Total Reps Dems Inds Yes 27% 53% 9% 23% No 14 2 27 12
Can’t say
56 44 62 60 Historically, similar percentages of Americans did not have an opinion on the confirmation of past
nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court at this early stage. Overall public support for Gorsuch’s
confirmation is in line with recent nominees.
Should Senate Vote to Confirm …?
Gorsuch Kagan Sotomayor Alito Roberts Thomas Bork Yes 27% 21% 34% 15% 26% 24% 14% No 14 19 9 7 9 11 13
Can’t say
56 53 53 75 60 59 66 One of the most controversial decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court was the Roe vs. Wade decision that effectively legalized abortion. 54% of Americans say they are looking for a Supreme Court justice who would uphold Roe v. Wade; only 30% want someone who would vote to overturn it. Three in four Democrats are looking for a justice to uphold that 1973 decision. Republicans are more divided in their views but more want the next justice to vote to overturn Roe v. Wade (45%) than want the next justice to uphold it (39%).
Want the Next Supreme Court Justice to Be
Someone Who…
Total Reps Dems Inds Will vote to uphold Roe v. Wade 54% 39% 75% 49% Will vote to overturn Roe v. Wade 30 45 17 30
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