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Recent polling shows that a majority of voters support the central message of President Trump’s State of the Union address. During the speech, Trump asked members of Congress to stand if they agreed with the statement that “The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.” According to a recent Rasmussen survey, 67 percent of likely voters agreed with the statement.
Overall, 40% of likely voters polled by Rasmussen rated the President’s speech as good or excellent, and 37 percent gave the speech a poor rating. The breakdown of reactions aligned with how much of the speech voters watched. Thirty-two percent of those polled watched the entire speech, and 15 percentwatched most of it. Twenty-one percent of respondents said they saw some of the speech, and 30 percent said they did not watch the speech at all.
President Trump received a highly favorable rating from those who watched the State of the Union in its entirety, with 71 percent rating the speech as good or excellent. Reactions broke down predictably along party lines, with 71 percent of Republicans but only 15 percent of Democrats rating the speech as good or excellent.
President Trump’s statement about the government’s duty to protect American citizens received overwhelming party support, with 87 percent of likely Republican voters saying they at least somewhat agree with the quote. The sentiment polled strongly outside of the GOP as well, with 49 percent of Democrats and 65 percent of unaffiliated voters saying they at least somewhat agree.
The results could be critical for the GOP’s message to voters in the November midterm elections. As Republicans are fighting to pass the Safeguarding American Voter Eligiblity (SAVE America) Act in the Senate, voters have expressed concerns about the security of U.S. elections. Rasmussen polls conducted earlier this month showed 55% of likely voters believed non-citizens were illegally registered to vote.
Passage of the SAVE America Act could have a profound impact on the election, given its overwhelming support among voters. According to a Pew Research study conducted last year, large majorities of Americans favor voter ID requirements, with 95 percent of Republicans and 71 percent of Democrats supporting such a measure.
