When it comes to who gets the blame over the government shutdown, Americans blame everyone from Republicans and Democrats in Congress to President Trump, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday.
Pollsters asked those surveyed how much blame they think Trump, Republicans and Democrats deserve for the shutdown. Of those asked, 67 percent said Republicans deserved “a fair amount” of blame, while 63 percent said the same for both Democrats and Trump, respectively.
Among those who have an idea on who deserves “a little” blame, 16 percent say Republicans, 17 percent say Trump and 21 percent say Democrats.
Respondents expressed worry over delays to services they need like Social Security or student aid. While 33 percent said they are not worried, 49 percent are concerned.
As for the shutdown itself, 39 percent of Democrats are very concerned about it, while 12 percent of Republicans are, the survey stated.
Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress have pointed the blame toward each other over the course of the shutdown, which entered its 10th day on Friday.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem is expected to be featured in videos played at airports across the U.S. that will point blame on the shutdown at Democrats, Fox News reported.
“It is TSA’s top priority to make sure that you have the most pleasant and efficient airport experience possible while we keep you safe,” Noem says in the video. “However, Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted and most of our TSA employees are working without pay.”
But other polling shows that Americans disapprove how Republicans and Trump are handling the shutdown. CBS News released its own poll on Monday that showed 52 percent disapproving of their handling of the shutdown and 39 percent blaming them for the shutdown.
As for Democrats, 49 percent disapproved of their handling of the shutdown and 30 percent blamed them in the CBS News poll.
The Washington Post’s polling, released on Oct. 1, the day the government shutdown began, showed that 47 percent of respondents found Trump and congressional Republicans responsible for the shutdown.
The Reuters/Ipsos survey was conducted Oct. 3-7 and included 1,154 respondents. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.
Source: The Hill