Nearly half the country backs President Donald Trump’s executive order on refugees, indicating the hotly contested order is more popular than Trump, Hillary Clinton or the news media.
Reuters found 49 percent of the country agrees with Trump’s order, which bans all refugees for 120 days, all immigration from seven countries designated by the Obama administration as terror threats for 90 days, and all immigration from Syria indefinitely. About one-third of those polled Monday and Tuesday said the ban makes them feel “more safe.”
Those numbers might surprise people on a mainstream media diet, which has amplified protests around the country regarding the ban and misconstrued the facts of the executive order to the detriment of rational discourse. CNN tweeted recently about 12 people who wrote “resist” in the sand on a random beach, as though it were some kind of portentous feat, for example, even as they downplay meaningful support for this ban.
Meanwhile, public trust in the media is at a new low. Just 32 percent of Americans said they have a fair amount of trust in the media in a September Gallup poll, which is the lowest percentage in the poll’s history.
The executive order is wildly popular compared to these numbers. Trump’s approval ratings as of mid-January were around 40 percent. Clinton’s approval rating going into the election was dismal, as more than 50 percent disapproved in November polls.
“I understand that the country was founded on immigrants,” Cheryl Hoffman told Reuters. “Please, I get that. But I’m worried that refugees are coming in and being supported by my tax dollars.” She’s “thrilled” with the ban.
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