Conservative activists overwhelmingly support President Trump’s opening acts in the White House and believe he is realigning the conservative movement, according to the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll results released Saturday.
Overall, 86 percent of CPAC attendees approve of the job Trump has done during the first month, while over 80 percent believe he is “realigning” the conservative movement going forward. The results, which were released at the tail-end of the conference, show that Trump receives support from wide swaths of conservatives.
In particular, Trump receives high levels of support for the executive order banning the entry of individuals from seven Muslim-majority nations, his nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, his push to defund sanctuary cities and Trump’s plan to invest $1 billion in U.S. infrastructure.
Eighty-one percent of attendees approve of the executive action, which was shot down by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. However, the White House is planning to release another executive order that is expected to pass constitutional muster.
Despite Trump’s high approval ratings with conservatives who attended the conference, his populist stance is in the vast minority of those who took part in the poll. Fifety-one percent classify themselves as a “classical Reagan conservative” compared to only 10 percent who label themselves a “populist conservative.” “Libertarian conservatives” also make up 32 percent.
Forty-six percent of the poll’s participants also say that the economy is the most pressing issue facing the U.S., while 28 percent picked national security issues. Only 13 percent believe social/cultural issues are the biggest issue, while 10 percent chose honest and integrity in government.
