A new poll finds a majority of voters blame either President Trump or Republicans in Congress for the federal shutdown, now in its second month.
in one nbc news pollConducted in late October, 52 percent of voters say Trump and/or the Republican Party are responsible for the federal shutdown, including 25 percent who say congressional Republicans are to blame, 24 percent who say Trump is to blame, and 3 percent who say they blame both, even when they were asked to choose between the two.
Another 42 percent of respondents blamed Democrats in Congress for the shutdown.
Core party constituencies were most likely to blame the other party for the shutdown, suggesting that each party’s base supports their respective party’s approach to the shutdown.
“Each party can look at this data and say, ‘Let’s not blink,'” said GOP pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies. told NBC NewsMcInturff conducted the survey with Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates.
“Health care, a central focus of the government shutdown debate, is an area where Democrats continue to dominate,” Horwitz told the news outlet.
The survey was conducted in the fifth week of the shutdown, as no meaningful progress has been made toward an agreement to reopen the government.
Democrats have insisted they will not support a GOP proposal to reopen the government without extending enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year, which would raise health care premiums for millions of Americans.
Meanwhile, Republicans say they won’t negotiate on health subsidies unless Democrats vote to reopen the government.
With Trump returning home from his Asia trip last week, some Democrats are renewing their efforts to secure a meeting with the president. Some? said If they sit down with the President, he is confident they can reach an agreement quickly.
The survey included 1,000 registered voters and was conducted October 24–28. The margin of error is 3.1 percentage points.
