Trump’s Attacks On ‘Defunding The Police’ Are Falling Flat, Poll Shows
Alison DurkeeForbes Staff
Business
Jul 8, 2020,12:56pm EDT
TOPLINE
President Donald Trump has attempted to weaponize racial justice activists’ calls to “defund the police” against Democrats in the upcoming election, but a Monmouth University poll released Wednesday suggests that voters—including the president’s allies—aren’t buying Trump’s radical interpretation of what defunding the police would actually mean.
KEY FACTS
The Monmouth University poll found that 77% of respondents believe most activists using the phrase want to “change the way police operate,” while only 18% believe they want to “get rid of police.”
Trump has repeatedly disavowed the idea of “defunding the police” and turned the sentiment into an attack against Democrats, equating the idea with abolishing police entirely and releasing a new campaign ad that claims voters “won’t be safe in Biden’s America” because defunded police departments could not respond to violent crime.
Even the demographics most likely to support Trump, however, don’t agree with his view, with 67% of Republicans and 73% of non-college educated whites believing the phrase means “change the way police operate.”
Americans also disapprove of Trump’s response to the current racial justice movement more broadly, with 62% of all respondents and 32% of Republicans saying “Trump’s handling of the protests has made the situation worse.”
Trump’s attacks on Democrats for wanting to “defund the police” come despite the fact that presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has specifically disavowed the phrase and instead proposed additional funding to overhaul policing.
Crucial Quote
“Most Americans see ‘Defund the Police’ as more of a general statement of purpose rather than an actual policy demand, at least for now,” Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a statement.
continues at forbes.com |
