More than half of Americans blame President Trump and Republicans for a partial government shutdown that is now in its fourth week, according to a poll.
Fifty-three percent of those surveyed in a Washington Post-ABC News poll released late Saturday say Trump and his Republican colleagues bear responsibility for the shutdown because of the president’s demand for a wall on the southern border.
It found that 29 percent say Democrats are at fault.
Another 13 percent say both sides share equal responsibility.
Asked about building a border barrier, 42 percent said they would “strongly” or “somewhat” support the move, while 54 percent said they would “strongly” or “somewhat” oppose it, the survey showed.
Questioned on breaking the stalemate between Trump and Congress, 48 percent said congressional Democrats should “refuse funding” the wall even if it means extending the shutdown.
Forty-five percent opted for a compromise and 7 percent had no opinion.
But 52 percent said Trump should continue to “demand funding,” 41 percent said he “should compromise” and 7 percent had no opinion.
On the question of Trump declaring a national emergency at the border so he could bypass Congress and build the wall, 66 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” oppose, while 31 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” support the tactic.
The survey of 788 people was conducted by cellphone and landline between Jan. 8-11. It has a plus-minus 4.5 percentage point margin of error.
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