Polls Show Most Blame Trump for Shutdown, But Support for Border Wall at All-Time High

As the federal government shutdown now becomes the longest in history, three new polls show that Americans blame Republicans more than Democrats for the shutdown–while at the same time, support for President Trump’s border wall is increasing.

According to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll, 53 percent say of respondents say that the President and the Republicans are to blame for the shutdown, while only 29 percent blame Democrats. Thirteen percent say both Republicans and Democrats are at fault.

Similarly, a CBS News/YouGov poll showed that 47 percent blame Trump, while 30 percent blame Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and the Democrats. 20 percent blame both sides.

In a recent CNN poll, 55 percent blame Trump for the shutdown while 32 percent blame the Democrats. Nine percent blame both parties.

Perception is reality, and the perception across the board – fair or unfair – appears to be that the shutdown is mostly Trump’s and the Republicans’ fault.

Which is surprising when you consider this poll: “Support for President Trump’s wall along the U.S.-Mexico border is at an all-time high weeks into a partial government shutdown that began over a border security dispute for funding,” reports the Washington Examiner. “According to the results of an ABC News and Washington Post poll released Sunday morning, 42 percent of Americans support a wall. That is up from 34 percent one year ago and a previous high of 37 percent in 2017.”

So while most Americans still oppose a U.S.-Mexico border wall – 54 percent – the number who do want a wall has increased significantly since the shutdown began.

This leads to two important questions: Is now the time for President Trump to finally thrown in the towel and reopen the federal government even without any border wall funding or assurances? (Sen. Lindsey Graham now says while the president might be open to different options, he won’t back down on the wall).

Or does President Trump see the increasing support for a wall as evidence that more Americans than ever are getting behind him on beefing up border security?

Will President Trump come to some sort of compromise – or will he stick to his border wall guns to the bitter end?

is a professional writer and editor with over 15 years of experience in conservative media and Republican politics. He... More about John Hanson

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