Majority of Americans Are Against the Wall & Shutdown: Poll

The partial federal government shutdown, which had become the longest in American history, ended after 35 days on January 25, 2019. President Trump and congressional leaders agreed to a three-week continuing resolution that did not include border wall funding. You can read more about the deal and the leadup to it here.

Polls conducted leading up to and during the shutdown showed that a majority of Americans did not support the shutdown or the reasoning behind it. A majority opposed building a wall.

Here’s what you need to know.

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Average of polls, compiled by CNN: “Who is most to blame for the government shutdown?” [12/22/18 to 01/07/19]

President Trump	50%
Congressional Democrats	35%
Congressional Republicans	5%
Undecided	11%

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About 50 percent of Americans surveyed say that President Trump is to blame for the partial government shutdown, according to an average of polls. 35 percent blame the Democrats in Congress while just 5 percent feels congressional Republicans are responsible.

As CNN pointed out, however, President Trump has maintained the support from his base. More than 8 in 10 people who said they voted for President Trump in the 2016 election say they hold Democrats responsible for the shutdown.

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Marist Poll: Do you think building a wall between the US and Mexico should be an immediate priority for Congress, should not be an immediate priority, or not be a priority at all? [11/28/18 to 12/04/18]

Immediate Priority	28%
Not an Immediate Priority	19%
Not a Priority at All	50%
Unsure	2%

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A poll conducted in late 2018 by Marist, in partnership with NPR and PBS NewsHour, found that a majority of Americans oppose building a southern barrier wall. Out of the total number of people surveyed, without separating them out by political party, 50 percent felt building a wall should not be a priority at all. 19 percent said it didn’t need to be dealt with immediately. 28 percent said the wall is an immediate priority.

There is a greater divide when the numbers are broken down by political affiliation. 91 percent of Democrats said that the wall was either not an immediate priority or not important at all, compared to 35 percent of Republicans who agree with that sentiment. 63 percent of Republicans felt the wall is an immediate priority.

These numbers follow the same trend as a CBS News poll which was conducted in mid-November 2018. In that poll, 59 percent of total Americans opposed a border wall. 66 percent of Independents and 84 percent of Democrats oppose the wall, while CBS found that 79 percent of Republicans support it.

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Marist Poll: Should President Trump Compromise on the Border Wall to Stop a Government Shutdown? [11/28/18 to 12/04/18]

Compromise on the border wall	57%
Should Not Compromise	36%

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In the Marist Poll referenced above, respondents were also asked whether President Trump should be willing to compromise on a border wall in order to prevent a government shutdown. 57 percent said he should compromise, while 36 percent he should stand firm.

Once again, the poll revealed a deep partisan divide. 71 percent of Democrats felt the president should compromise to avoid a shutdown, while 65 percent of Republicans said he should not.