Americans blame Trump and the GOP for the government shutdown more than they blame Democrats
- A Washington Post-ABC poll found that Americans are much more willing to blame Trump and the GOP for the shutdown than Democrats.
- Most Americans also reject Trump's claim that there is a crisis at the border.
- Support for the wall, however, has increased since last January.
Americans blame President Donald Trump and Republicans for the government shutdown more than they blame Democrats by a wide margin, a Washington Post-ABC poll found. More than half of those polled blamed Republicans in Congress and Trump, while only 29% blamed Democrats in Congress.
According to the Post's analysis, 85% of Democrats cite Trump and Republicans as the cause of the shutdown. On the flip side, 68% of Republicans are blaming congressional Democrats. Independent voters blame the shutdown squarely on the president and his party instead of the Democrats, by 53% to 23%.
The majority also rejects President Trump's claim that there is a crisis at the border - while 24% believe there is a crisis, 47% think the issue is a "serious problem," but not a crisis.
However, support for building the border wall has increased eight percentage points since last January, from 34% to 42%. This seems to indicate that though a slight majority of Americans remain opposed to the wall, some might be changing their minds.
According to the Post's analysis, increase in support for the wall is sharpest among Republicans, who have increasingly backed up Trump's campaign promise. Last year, 71% supported a wall on the US-Mexico border, whereas 87% support it now. Additionally, 70% of Republicans say they "strongly" support the wall.
Read more: The government shutdown is in day 21 and just tied the record for the longest shutdown in history
Meanwhile 38% of Americans believe the government shutdown will become a major crisis if it continues for several months, while 41% believe it will be a serious problem, but not a crisis.
However, 48% of those polled believe that Democrats should refuse funding the border wall, even if it means continuing the shutdown. Similarly, 52% of those polled think Trump should continue demanding for funding, even if it means continuing the shutdown.
It is important to note that of those polled, 82% said they were not being inconvenienced by the shutdown. Among Democrats, 20% said the shutdown has inconvenienced them, while 10% of Republicans said they have been inconvenienced.
Though Trump at first told Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer that he would take ownership over this shutdown, the divide over who bears responsibility for the shutdown has widened ever since the shutdown started.
Last week, Trump abruptly ended a negotiation meeting with Pelosi and Schumer last week, reportedly saying "bye-bye" to Pelosi as he marched out of the oval office.