Poll: Americans increasingly blame Trump for the shutdown, 25 percent back his negotiating position

Trump is losing the political fight over the shutdown

(Image credit: Getty Images)

last updated 9 January 2019

No one is "winning" the fight over President Trump's border wall and the partial government shutdown it sparked, but Trump is losing, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday ahead of Trump's Oval Office address. A 51 percent majority of American adults say Trump "deserves most of the blame" for the shutdown, up 4 percentage points from the previous poll, conducted right before Christmas. Another 32 percent place most of the blame with congressional Democrats and 7 percent mostly fault congressional Republicans — largely unchanged from the last poll.

And the wall itself is increasingly unpopular, except among Republicans, the poll found. Overall, 41 percent of Americans support more border fencing — a drop of 12 points from a similar poll an early 2015, before Trump made it central to his campaign — and 35 percent support a congressional spending bill that funds Trump's wall. Only 25 percent back Trump's decision to shut down parts of the government until Congress appropriates his nearly $6 billion down payment on the wall. Among Republicans, 77 percent said they want additional fencing and 54 percent backed Trump's negotiating position.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.