Americans may be more supportive of the president’s new, post-Supreme Court order travel ban policy than many observers might have expected.
A new Politico/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday found 60 percent of respondents supported the ban, either strongly or “somewhat” when given this explanation of it:
“As you may know, the U.S. Department of State recently outlined new guidelines which say visa applicants from six predominantly Muslim countries must prove a close family relationship with a U.S. resident in order to enter the country. Knowing this, do you support or oppose these new guidelines?”
A full 37 percent of respondents said they “strongly” supported the ban, with an additional 23 percent supporting it “somewhat.” Only 14 percent strongly opposed the ban. Interestingly, the poll’s crosstabs show even 39 percent of respondents who reported voting for Hillary Clinton last November expressed support. Forty-four percent of 2012 Obama voters were supportive as well. Among voters who listed their top issue as security, 81 percent supported the policy.
Noting that polling on the issue has varied in recent months, Politico theorized the positive reception to the ban found in its own survey could be attributed to the pollsters’ decision to leave the president’s name out of the question.
The poll was conducted on June 29 and 30 of 1,989 registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
