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AP Poll: Most Americans Believe Protecting US Major Reason Behind Travel Ban

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

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The majority of Americans say that protecting the United States from security threats is the major reason behind President Trump’s executive travel ban, according to a new poll by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Even though a majority of Americans support the courts’ actions of blocking the ban on travel, six out of 10 Americans say that protecting the country from security threats is a main motivation behind the travel ban. Still, half of respondents say a major goal of the executive order is to prevent Muslims from coming to the U.S.

Not surprisingly, the travel ban is a hugely partisan issue. Eighty-seven percent of Republicans contend that the order is trying to protect the country from security threats, while 41 percent of Democrats agree with that sentiment. Sixty-four percent of Democrats say the order is trying to prevent Muslims from entering the country while just 34 percent of Republicans agree.

Where Republicans and Democrats contrast the most is how they view the courts’ actions. Seventy-three percent of Republicans say the courts are improperly interfering with the president’s authority, while 82 percent of Democrats support the courts’ action.

One thing the majority of respondents in this poll agree on is that the president should not be given more power at the expense of the power of Congress and the courts to help solve the country’s problems. Only 2 percent of respondents support such an expansion of power.

This poll was conducted on June 8-11 with 1,068 adults who were interviewed through online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

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Amanda Tidwell