U.S. partisan divide on gov't shutdown over border wall more sharply: poll

Source: Xinhua| 2019-01-17 05:08:17|Editor: yan
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- With the partial shutdown of the federal government entering its 26th day, Americans' view on whether to expand the U.S.-Mexico border wall has been more sharply divided along partisan lines, according to a Pew Research Center survey released Wednesday.

Seventy-nine percent Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say the shutdown is a "very serious problem", while only 35 percent Republicans and Republican leaners say the same, the poll showed.

"Republican support for the wall is at record high, while Democratic support has reached a new low," the Pew said in a report.

Overall opinion on the wall is little changed from last year. The new poll found a majority of Americans (58 percent) continue to oppose substantially expanding the border wall, while 40 percent favor the proposal.

Only 29 percent of Americans think it would be "unacceptable" to reopen the government without substantially expanding physical barriers on the southern border with Mexico. Meanwhile, 58 percent of Americans still oppose the border wall altogether.

However, 88 percent of opponents of expanding the border wall say it would not be acceptable to pass a bill that includes Trump's request for wall funding, if that is the only way to end the shutdown. Among the smaller group of wall supporters, 72 percent say a bill to end the shutdown would be unacceptable if it does not include Trump's funding request.

The survey, conducted Jan. 9-14 among 1,505 adults, found that none of Washington's political leaders receives positive approval ratings for their handling of the government shutdown. Just 43 percent approve the way Democratic congressional leaders are handling the government shutdown, while 36 percent each approve how Donald Trump and Republican congressional leaders are handling the shutdown.

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