Most Americans oppose the wall -- and oppose ending the shutdown by funding it
By Philip Bump
January 16 at 9:16 AM
It’s been nearly a month now that significant parts of the federal government have been shuttered, a fight that began when President Trump suddenly decided to dig in his heels on his campaign promise to build a wall on the border with Mexico. In the weeks since, that’s been the central issue: Will Democrats accede to Trump’s demand that additional money be appropriated for constructing a wall? For all of the talk about border security and the composition of that wall, this underlying debate hasn’t changed.
A poll from Pew Research Center released Wednesday shows that opposition to the wall continues to be robust. Forty percent of respondents favor an expansion of the wall, Pew found, with a 58 percent majority opposing it.
But Pew went a step further, revealing particularly bad news for Trump and the Republicans. Pew then asked respondents whether they would be willing to see the shutdown end by compromising their position. That is, if you oppose the wall, would you support ending the shutdown by spending money on its construction or, if you support the wall, would you approve of ending the shutdown by giving up on funding it?
About 7 in 10 of those who support the wall said they would oppose any compromise. But nearly 9 in 10 of those who oppose the wall said they, too, wanted to stick to their guns — meaning that, overall, more than half the country both opposes the wall and opposes compromising on that position.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/16/most-americans-oppose-wall-and-oppose-ending-shutdown-by-funding-it/
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