Trump’s appeals for border wall not convincing voters, polls show

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump made another pitch for a wall on the southwest border during Tuesday’s State of the Union address even as public opinion polls show that his many recent appeals have not bumped up support for a wall among American voters.

Trump’s demand for a spending measure with $5.7 billion for the border wall he promised during the 2016 campaign led to the 35-day government shutdown, which ended after he signed a spending bill without wall money on Jan. 25.

A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released Jan. 30 found that the number of voters who saw a “crisis” at the border – four in 10 – was virtually unchanged over the last three weeks of the shutdown. The percent of voters who opposed a wall rose slightly to 47 percent, compared to 45 percent who said they support it. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.

The numbers were the same among voters polled before and after the shutdown ended.

Meanwhile, a Gallup poll released Monday found that 60 percent of voters oppose a wall, up from 57 percent in June. January respondents essentially gave the same answers before and after the shutdown ended. The Gallup survey’s margin of error is plus or minus four percentage points.

In 2006, Gallup found that 56 percent of Americans opposed building a border wall.

Throughout the shutdown, Trump made multiple attempts to convince Democrats and the public of the need for a border wall.

On Jan. 3, Trump came to the White House briefing room flanked by Border Patrol officials to push for his wall and border funding.

On Jan. 4, flanked by GOP House leaders, Trump took questions from the press in the Rose Garden and argued that many federal workers supported the shutdown because they agreed with his push for border security.

On Jan. 8, Trump warned from the Oval Office that the situation at the border had reached a crisis level.

On Jan. 19, Trump offered a compromise that would give the GOP money for the wall and Democrats temporary legal status for some undocumented immigrants brought into the country as children. Democrats did not bite.

On Jan. 25, Trump returned to the Rose Garden to announce that he would sign a spending package to end the shutdown even though it did not include money to address what he called a crisis that threatens the nation’s safety.

During the shutdown, Trump also frequently pushed his border plan when members of the press shouted questions to him, and his answers were broadcast on cable news.

The current spending package sunsets on Feb. 15. Trump has not ruled out another shutdown in his quest to win $5.7 billion to fund 234 miles of wall along the border with Mexico.

“He’s had a chance to win the public over to his thinking on this, but in order to do that, he had to be more disciplined in keeping the focus on border security, not the wall,” observed GOP strategist Matt Mackowiak.

Mackowiak added that Trump might have moved public opinion if he made it less about himself and whether he would win.

Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or at 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter.