Most Americans think Trump has intentionally encouraged white supremacist
groups
A new poll by
Quinnipiac University reveals that a growing number of Americans think
President Donald Trump has contributed to a more hateful atmosphere in the
U.S., and many think he's deliberately encouraged hate groups.
Nearly two-thirds of
Americans said they believe that the level of hatred and prejudice have gone up
since President Donald Trump entered office in January.
Researchers polled 1,514
voters across the nation between August 17 and 22.
The data was collected on the heels of widespread criticism of Trump's refusal to unequivocally condemn this month's white supremacist gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia, and just before Trump suggested he would pardon former sheriff Joe Arpaio in an off-script tirade in Phoenix, Arizona on last Tuesday.
The data was collected on the heels of widespread criticism of Trump's refusal to unequivocally condemn this month's white supremacist gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia, and just before Trump suggested he would pardon former sheriff Joe Arpaio in an off-script tirade in Phoenix, Arizona on last Tuesday.
Arpaio, a longtime
Trump supporter, was convicted last month of failing to obey a judge's order to
end his practice of racially profiling Latinos in Maricopa County, Arizona; the
ACLU called Trump's
hint at pardoning him "an official endorsement of racism."
Thirty-two percent of respondents said the level of hatred in U.S. public life has not changed since Trump was inaugurated, while two percent stated that it has improved.
The survey's findings
correspond with the Southern Poverty Law Center's most recent report on
the rise of hate groups in the U.S. In February the group found that the number
of these groups "rose for a second year in a row in 2016 as the radical
right was energized by the candidacy of Donald Trump...The most dramatic growth
was the near-tripling of anti-Muslim hate groups—from 34 in 2015 to 101 last
year."
Nearly 60 percent of
Americans surveyed by Quinnipiac said they felt Trump's actions and decisions
had encouraged white supremacists like the ones who gathered in
Charlottesville, and 61 percent said his encouragement of hate groups had been
deliberate.
When asked if bigotry
is a major issue for minority groups in the U.S. today, 50 percent said it was
a "very serious" problem. Among Republicans, more respondents said
they were more concerned about prejudice toward white people than toward
minority groups—25 percent versus 21 percent.
Poll-takers also asked
respondents to share the first word that came to mind when they thought of
Trump. The word "strong" was the most-reported word, with 64
votes—but far more respondents came up with negative words as their first
choices.
The rest of the top
five most-reported words were "idiot" (59 votes),
"incompetent" (58), "liar" (50), and "president"
(49), while the sixth-most common word was "racist," with 29 votes.