Americans blame Trump for the government shutdown over a border 'crisis' that they don't see, according to polls
- A new Washington Post/ABC News poll found a majority of Americans blame President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers for the partial government shutdown.
- The poll also found that a minority of people polled support Trump's claims that there is a "crisis" at the southern border and its use to support a record-breaking shutdown.
- Multiple other polls taken during the government shutdown have found that most people place the blame on Trump.
A new Washington Post/ABC News poll found that a majority of Americans blame President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers for the partial government shutdown.
The poll comes as the shutdown broke the record for the longest in American history. It also found that a majority of Americans shied away from some of Trump's key positions that he is using to legitimize the shutdown.
The poll found 53% of Americans blame Trump and Republican lawmakers for the shutdown, while 29% blame Democratic lawmakers.
Though support for Trump's long-promised border wall, funding for which is at the heart of the shutdown, found a slight increase to 42% from 34% this month last year, 54% of Americans were found to still oppose the wall overall.
Just under half of Americans disagree with Trump's claims of a "crisis" at the border, as 47% said the situation at the border was serious, but not a crisis.
Other polls released over the weekend back the conclusion found in the Washington Post/ABC poll. A CNN poll released Sunday shows 55% of respondents blamed President Trump more than Democrats in Congress for the shutdown. It also found the 56% of people oppose the proposed border wall. An NPR poll from Friday found that just 3 in 10 believe that the government should be shut down until there is funding for the wall. A Reuters poll from Tuesday found that 51% believe that Trump "deserves most of the blame" for the shutdown.
The minority support for Trump's messaging reflects rebukes from top Democrats including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has led calls for an end to the shutdown that was sparked by gridlock in Congress over Trump's demanded $5 billion to construct the wall.
Pelosi said last week that the president should "stop holding the American people hostage and stop manufacturing a crisis, and must reopen the government." Trump has since objected to the term "manufactured crisis" as offensive to border agencies, often using anecdotes about individual crimes committed by undocumented immigrants to hit back at Democrats.
The government shutdown has now gone on for 23 days. It has affected a slew of agencies and services for millions of Americans. As Trump digs in on his wishes for the border, Democrats have insisted there will be no money allocated for the wall, and the shutdown appears to have no end in sight.