The FINANCIAL — Despite an international uproar and condemnation by President Obama and nearly all of those running for the presidency, Donald Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims coming to the United States has the support of a sizable majority of Republicans – and a plurality of all voters.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 66% of Likely Republican Voters favor a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the United States until the federal government improves its ability to screen out potential terrorists from coming here. Just 24% oppose the plan, with 10% undecided.
Among all voters, 46% favor a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, while 40% are opposed. Fourteen percent (14%) are undecided.
Trump, the front-runner in the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, proposed the ban following last week’s massacre in San Bernardino, California. Sixty-five percent (65%) of voters believe the two shooters in the incident were radical Islamic terrorists. Those individuals had entered the United States without problem and escaped detection despite several actions here suggesting that they had violent intentions.
Fifty-nine percent (59%) of voters believe it is too easy for foreigners to legally enter the Untied States. Only 10% believe it is too hard, while 23% say the level of difficulty is about right.
Still, when thinking about immigration policy in general, 59% also feel that the United States should treat all potential immigrants equally, down only slightly from June. Thirty percent (30%) think the United States should allow more immigrants from some countries than others, a finding that’s changed very from past surveying. Eleven percent (11%) are not sure.
Late last month – and prior to the mass murders in San Bernardino, Trump said he would support government tracking of Muslims living in the United States through a federal database, a plan his fellow GOP rivals said was going too far. But at that time, one-in-three voters – and a slight plurality of Republicans – supported government monitoring of Muslims.
In another survey just before the San Bernardino incident, 49% of U.S. voters said Islam as practiced today encourages violence more than most other religions, and 71% thought Islamic religious leaders need to do more to emphasize the peaceful beliefs of their faith.
Most voters who believe Trump is likely to be the next Republican presidential nominee support his proposed ban on Muslims entering the United States.
Men and women are in equal agreement on a temporary ban on Muslims coming here. The older the voter, the more likely he or she is to support such a ban.
Just 30% of Democrats favor Trump’s proposed ban, while 55% oppose it. Voters not affiliated with either major party support the ban by a narrow 45% to 39% margin.
The majority of voters in most demographic categories think it is too easy for foreigners to legally enter the United States but also feel that America should treat all potential immigrants equally.
While 78% of Republicans and 59% of unaffiliateds think it is too easy to get into the United States, just 42% of Democrats agree. Voters in Obama’s party, on the other hand, feel more strongly than GOP and unaffiliated voters that the United States should treat all potential immigrants equally.
Only 30% of all voters think the federal government is doing a good or excellent job monitoring potential terrorists inside the United States.
Thirty-nine percent (39%) think the terrorists are winning the War on Terror, while only 28% believe the United States and its allies are winning. That’s consistent with surveying for months but reflects voter attitudes before the terrorist attacks in Paris and last week’s massacre in California. We’ll be updating those findings tomorrow morning, too.
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