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POLITICO / Morning Consult Poll: As the Shutdown Lingers, Voters Blame Trump

Pete Marovich/Getty Images

Arlington, VA — According to the latest POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, nearly half (47%) of voters say President Trump is to blame for the government shutdown, while a third (33%) place blame on Democrats in Congress. Just five percent of voters point the finger at Congressional Republicans.

The poll was conducted January 4-6 — as the shutdown entered its third week, prior to President Trump’s national address to voters from the Oval Office. Voters have consistently placed blame for the shutdown at the President’s feet with no significant shift in opinion since the last poll, conducted in mid-December.

On a more positive note for the President, voters clearly believe that there is a problem on the southern border. In fact, a plurality of voters (42%) say there is a "crisis" along the United States-Mexico border. Another 37% of voters say there is a "problem" on the border, meaning that a staggering 79% of voters say there is a “crisis” or “problem” on the southern border. Despite the acknowledgement of problems on the border, more than six in ten voters (65%) say the president shouldn’t shut down the government to achieve his policy goals.

"Our polling suggests Republican voters are responding well to President Trump's handling of the contentious battle around the government shutdown," said Tyler Sinclair, Morning Consult's vice president. "Notably, 69 percent of Republican voters blame congressional Democrats, and 15 percent blame President Trump for the government shutdown. Among the same group, the president's approval crept upward, with 84 percent approving and 15 percent disapproving of his performance this week, compared to 81 percent approval and 18 percent disapproval pre-shutdown."

More broadly, the President’s overall approval rating stands at 43%, nearly identical to the percentage of voters who support a border wall (44%).



