Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump retained his strength in a poll from North Carolina among likely Republican primary voters, according to a Public Policy poll released Tuesday.
Trump is leading the pack with 33 percent support, followed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) at 16 percent, and 14 percent each for retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).
Trump had previously led in other Public Policy polls in North Carolina. He had 33 percent support in September and 31 percent support among likely GOP primary voters in October. The poll cited Trump’s islamophobia as reasons why he’s retained support.
Most of Trump’s supporters (67 percent) support Trump’s database for Muslims, 62 percent believe Trump when he said that he saw thousands cheering in New Jersey in 9/11, and 51 percent agree with Trump that mosques should be closed down, according to the poll.
The poll was conducted from Dec. 5 to Dec. 7 and did not gauge support for Trump’s most recent call on Monday to ban Muslims from entering the United States.
The survey was conducted among 537 Republican primary voters who responded by phone and over the Internet. The poll’s margin of error was +/-4.2 percent.
What a piece of work is a Trump supporter! How inept in reason! How inadequate in faculty! In form, in moving, how clumsy and detestable! In action how like an serpent! In apprehension how like a dog! The ugliness of the world! The nadir of humankind!
[With apologies to The Bard.]
I think that Trump’s comments are deplorable. However, the issue of how we protect against lone terrorists abusing our visa policies is still a relevant one.
A good model might be similar to one the Red Cross uses to screen blood donors. Individuals who have traveled to regions that have endemic disease such as mad cow disease, malaria, ebola etc in the preceding N years cannot donate blood.
Similarly, I suspect we should require individuals from visa-exempt countries who have travelled to terrorism endemic regions of countries like Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, Pakisatan, Syria etc. in the preceding X years to obtain a visa. We should also share terrorism watch lists with all of our allies and arrive at informed visa decisions – I suspect some of this is already in place. The female San Bernadino terrorist came in on a spousal visa – this is a tough one.
Apparently, the bill passed by congress this week exempts visitors with potentially terroristic connections from Saudi Arabia and Pakisatan from visa scrutiny. These two countries are the biggest exporters of and epicenters for the most barbaric forms of wahabbi sunni terrorism in the world.