Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s vow to fight illegal immigration by completing construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border has boosted his support among those concerned about immigration, according to a new Pew “thermometer” rating.
“Among the vast majority of GOP voters who think that the growing number of newcomers to the U.S. ‘threatens traditional American customs and values, 59 percent have warm feelings toward Donald Trump – with 42 percent saying they feel very warmly toward him,” said Pew in a just-released survey.
The poll of 4,385 found that most GOP voters are in sync with many of Trump’s top issues, explaining his support among the party faithful.
“An analysis of ‘feeling thermometer’ ratings of Trump finds that attitudes about immigration, Islam and racial diversity are strongly associated with Republican voters’ views of the presumptive GOP presidential nominee,” said the Pew Research Center analysis.
He also is a hit among those who believe the government is too easily doling out freebies and benefits.
From Pew:
Trump is viewed positively by the large majority of Republicans (66%) who say that the poor “have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything in return.”
Among this group, 56% have warm feelings toward Trump, compared with about a third (32%) who have cold feelings. Among the one-quarter of Republicans who say the poor have it hard “because government benefits don’t go far enough to help them live decently,” views of Trump are more mixed (45% warm, 39% cold).
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
