Donald Trump’s supporters want mass deportations, new poll finds

Washington Post (Plum Line)

By Greg Sargent

September 2, 2015

Donald Trump’s supporters want mass deportations, new poll finds 

Why, oh why, are Republican voters rallying around Donald Trump in such alarmingly large numbers? Maybe this Des Moines Register poll finding out of Iowa, which was just released this morning, provides a clue:

Round them up, nearly half of likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers say.

Forty-seven percent say it’s a good idea to gather up an estimated 11 million immigrants who are in the United States illegally and send them to their home country.

Among Donald Trump supporters, nearly three-fourths (73 percent) say so.

But among all the other Iowans who support the other 16 candidates, just 40 percent say rounding up immigrants here illegally is a good approach. A plurality, 45 percent, say it is a bad idea.

Nearly half of Iowa Republican caucus-goers say Trump’s call for deporting all undocumented immigrants is a good idea, and nearly three quarters of Trump supporters say the same. By contrast, those who support any candidate other than Trump think mass deportations is a bad idea by 45-40.

The Des Moines Register headline this morning spells it out: “Iowa Poll: Nearly half want to round up immigrants.” As Register political writer Jennifer Jacobs puts it, Trump’s “popularity rests partly on his supporters’ belief that he’ll prevent immigrants here illegally from staying.”

You should never read too much into one poll. But numerous other national surveys point in this direction. A recent Fox News poll found that 70 percent of Republicans think Trump was basically right when he described immigrants as drug-dealers and rapists. A recent CNN poll found that 63 percent of Republicans think the focus of immigration policy should be on securing the border and “deporting those already here.” And a recent CBS News poll found that 65 percent of Republican primary voters trust Trump to do the right thing on immigration.

To be clear, as I have written, many GOP primary voters do not share the apparent views of Trump supporters. Some polls have shown that surprisingly large numbers of Republicans favor some kind of legalization. GOP pollsters who have carefully studied attitudes towards immigration among GOP primary voters have found layers of complexity, nuance, and sympathy. Still, some polling evidence does suggest that a great many Republican voters do agree with Trump’s most crudely expressed views on the issue that he talks publicly about most —  views that have received national media attention for months now. I don’t know how much of a role this is playing in driving Trump’s appeal. But it’s worth at least pondering the role it might be playing.

One last point about this: It has been widely observed by reporters who have talked to Trump supporters that they think he’s “telling it like it is” or delivering them “straight talk.” So let’s be clear: vowing to “make America great again” by building a wall on the Mexican border and deporting 11 million people is neither of those things. It is not “telling it like it is.” It is not “straight talk.” Yet many of his supporters seem to enjoy being told these “truths.” So perhaps the better way to understand what’s happening here is that Trump’s supporters like the story he is telling them, which is largely that immigrants are to blame for the suffering of American workers.

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