The majority of Americans support cities calling in the military to “supplement” police forces as they “address” protests over the death of George Floyd, a new poll released Tuesday shows.
Fifty-eight percent of registered voters of the Morning Consult poll said they were in favor of cities choosing to bring in the military. And 33% of respondents said they “strongly support” the use of military for such purposes, with 25% “somewhat” supporting it.
Eleven percent of registered voters said they “somewhat oppose” the measure, and 19 percent said they “strongly oppose” it.
Older Americans were the most supportive of cities using the military, with 68% of people aged 65 and up in favor of it to some extent. Generation Z (defined as those born between 1997 and 2012) had the lowest level of support for the use of the military, with 30% saying they supported it to some degree.
The poll also found that 71% of registered voters supported cities calling in the National Guard to supplement police forces — 18% opposed the measure, and 11% said they didn’t know or had no opinion.
Over 40% of respondents said they “strongly support” cities bringing in the National Guard, and just 11% said they strongly opposed it.
Generation Z expressed the least amount of support for the measure, with 36% supporting it. Older Americans were the most supportive. Nearly 90% of people aged 65 and up said that they supported bringing in the National Guard, and 57% said they strongly supported it.
The death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes, sparked demonstrations around the country. Some of those demonstrations turned violent and police struggled to control the riots and looting. (RELATED: Beating Up An Old Man, Assaulting Journalists, And Ramming Protesters With Cars: Police Violence During Protests Caught On Video)
The National Guard was deployed in many cities as the riots continued to escalate. President Donald Trump voiced support for calling in the National Guard, saying in a tweet Tuesday morning that “New York City put on an 11:00 P.M. CURFEW last night. No wonder they ripped the place apart. Should be 7:00 P.M. CALL UP THE NATIONAL GUARD. #SAVENYC”
New York City put on an 11:00 P.M. CURFEW last night. No wonder they ripped the place apart. Should be 7:00 P.M. CALL UP THE NATIONAL GUARD. #SAVENYC
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 2, 2020
The president also said in a tweet Friday morning that “these THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”
The post was censored by Twitter, who said the tweet violated their rules for “glorifying violence.” (RELATED: Kayleigh McEnany Clarifies Trump’s Protest Comments On Using National Guard To ‘Dominate’)
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden criticized the president’s response, saying that he has “turned this country into a battlefield riven by old resentments and fresh fears,” according to a New York Times report.
