Polling Shows Americans Reject Trump’s Threat to Militarize US Cities

Two sets of recent polling data demonstrate that Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump’s actions in office so far — particularly his mobilization of the National Guard in U.S. cities.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Wednesday found that Americans largely disapprove of troops being deployed to U.S. cities when there isn’t an external threat. Nearly 6 in 10 Americans, 58 percent, said the president should only deploy troops to areas of the country facing an external threat, while fewer than 3 in 10 Americans, 25 percent, disagreed with that sentiment.

A plurality of respondents, 48 percent, said they were opposed to a president sending troops to a state if the governor of that state disapproves of such an action. Only 37 percent said a president should be allowed to send troops to a state without the governor’s consent.

Shortly before the poll was conducted, Trump told a meeting of hundreds of generals and admirals that they should prepare to face off with an “enemy within,” a phrase he’s frequently used to describe people with left-leaning views.

The poll comes as Trump is attempting to send National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, Illinois. In Portland, a federal judge has placed a temporary hold on Trump’s attempts to mobilize troops; a different federal judge is allowing National Guard troops to be deployed to Chicago pending an upcoming hearing on the matter.

Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act if judges further block his orders to send National Guard troops to Democratic-led cities across the U.S. He has also threatened governors and municipal leaders who challenge his actions, saying they should be “in jail” for refusing to cooperate with his plans to militarize their cities.

Another poll published this week, conducted by The New York Times and Siena College, shows that most American voters disagree with a number of controversial actions the president has taken since being sworn in nearly nine months ago.

Trump received a net-negative approval rating on several issues, including the economy (-9 point approval rating), his management of the government (-10 points), trade with foreign nations (-9 points), and immigration (-6 points). On the issue of crime, 48 percent of voters said they approve of his actions while 47 percent said they disapprove — a figure that demonstrates a stark split among voters, and that is within the poll’s margin of error.

Trump’s overall approval rating is -11 points, with 43 percent approving of his performance as president and 54 percent expressing disapproval.

A large segment of respondents said Trump has gone “too far” on numerous matters, including immigration enforcement (51 percent), sending the National Guard to U.S. cities (53 percent), coercing corporations into supporting his far right agenda (50 percent), and pressuring colleges (49 percent). On the matter of Trump threatening to revoke the licenses of TV stations if they don’t fire on-air personalities he dislikes, an overwhelming 77 percent of respondents were opposed, while only 12 percent were in support.

Alarmingly, a majority of voters seem to recognize that Trump is governing in an authoritarian manner. When asked whether he has cleaned up “chaos” and “disorder” or created it, only 42 percent said he’s cleaned things up, while 53 percent said he’s been creating chaos and disorder, the poll found.

It’s no wonder, then, that nearly 6 in 10 voters (58 percent) feel the country is heading in the “wrong direction,” according to the poll, while only 36 percent believe we’re on the “right track.”