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Join NowNew Polls: Trump’s Use of Unidentified Federal Officers to Suppress Protest Is Backfiring in Senate and Presidential Battlegrounds
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Majorities in Arizona, Maine, and North Carolina Oppose Trump’s Approach, Want Congress to Intervene
Washington, DC — Voters in three key battleground states are closely following and by a significant majority oppose Donald Trump’s recent use of unidentified federal agents to suppress protests, according to new polling conducted by Public Policy Polling and released today by MoveOn Political Action.
The polls, fielded among registered voters in Arizona (816), Maine (561), and North Carolina (939) between July 21 and 23, show majorities in each state oppose the Trump administration’s actions.
See memos from PPP and detailed poll results with crosstabs:
- Arizona: memo | detailed results
- Maine: memo | detailed results
- North Carolina: memo | detailed results
On Monday, Trump announced that this use of federal agents, which is being implemented over the opposition of local officials, would be expanded from Portland, Oregon, to other cities, including Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Detroit.
Further, the poll found that majorities in each state want Congress to intervene to stop the program generally, and they support specific provisions in Senate legislation requiring federal agents to wear identification on their uniforms, barring the use of unmarked vehicles for arrests, and restricting the use of force against protesters.
The news that this program is unpopular in Arizona, Maine, and North Carolina comes as Trump’s polling numbers are falling nationally and in key swing states. Republican senators in tough re-election campaigns, including Senators Martha McSally, Susan Collins, and Thom Tillis, are being squeezed by Trump policies unpopular with voters in their states. The polls show McSally, Collins, and Tillis all trailing their Democratic opponents.
“These results show that Trump’s plan to use unidentified federal agents to suppress local protests is backfiring with the public. Voters oppose it, and they want their senators to act,” said Rahna Epting, MoveOn Political Action’s executive director. “Continued enabling of Trump by Senators McSally, Collins, and Tillis is likely to hurt them at the ballot box. In this case, their political interests are aligned with the public interest, and they should do the right thing and join efforts in Congress to limit these abuses. When are they going to stand up to Trump’s continued abuses of power? Voters have had enough.”
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