Poll: Most Americans Think Trump’s C’Ville Response Wasn’t Strong Enough

President Donald Trump pauses as he answers questions from members of the media in the lobby of Trump Tower, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017.  (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Donald Trump pauses as he answers questions from members of the media in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
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A majority of Americans think President Donald Trump’s response to violence that erupted at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was not strong enough, according to a poll released Wednesday.

According to the NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, 52 percent of respondents said Trump’s response was not strong enough, while 27 percent thought it was sufficient.

Just 19 percent of Republicans thought Trump should have taken a stronger position, while 59 percent thought his response was strong enough.

Among Democrats, on the other hand, 79 percent of respondents thought Trump’s response wasn’t strong enough, while 10 percent thought it was sufficient.

In his initial response, Trump condemned violence from “many sides” in a statement he did not clarify until two days later, when he condemned white supremacists, neo-Nazis and hate groups by name. In an off-the-rails press conference on Wednesday, however, he again reversed position, returning to equivocal rhetoric blaming “both sides” that white supremacists hailed as an improvement.

The survey was conducted from a sample of 1,125 adults from Aug. 14–15, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points. Party affiliation results were taken from a sample of 859 registered voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

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  1. Just 19 percent of Republicans thought Trump should have taken a stronger position, while 59 percent thought his response was strong enough.

    I’d like for these folks to explain why.

  2. And has that 52% heard President Trump’s latest off-the-cuff tirade? (Thereby revealing his own true self.) How many of that 52% is white…inquiring minds want to know.

  3. I’m confused…‘not strong enough…’ meaning he should have condemned more strongly?

  4. Yes, 59% are a whole lot more than the deplorables. This is what we’re up against.

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