A majority of voters oppose President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard to Washington, according to a new poll released Wednesday.
Fifty-six percent of registered voters said in a new Quinnipiac University poll they oppose “Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard to Washington D.C. in an effort to reduce crime.”
Americans are highly polarized on party lines: Democrats oppose the measure by a 9-to-1 ratio, and 86 percent of Republican voters surveyed said they stand by Trump’s decision.
Only 42 percent of voters said they approve of the way Trump is handling crime overall, with 54 percent disapproving.
Trump has sought a federal takeover of law enforcement in the nation’s capital, deploying the National Guard and invoking a provision of the Home Rule Act — the 1970s law that grants the district limited self-governance — to direct city police.
During a Wednesday afternoon press conference, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser praised parts of Trump’s push but said she was unsure whether Trump intended to seek congressional approval to maintain control over the city’s police past the initial 30-day window. A Republican lawmaker recently introduced legislation that would extend Trump’s authority under the Home Rule Act by six months.
The lack of public support comes as Trump has publicly mused about sending troops to other major American cities, even as crime in many cities has been declining since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The administration has set its sights on Chicago — the nation’s third most-populous city — as its next likely target, drawing sharp rebukes from Democratic officials in Illinois.
The administration enjoys significantly less leeway in cities outside Washington, as federal law restricts the use of military force for civilian law enforcement in most circumstances.
The Quinnipiac poll was conducted by telephone Aug. 21-25, with a random sample of 1,220 self-identified registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
