According to a poll by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Trump’s foreign policy declarations have prompted divisions within the Republican coalition. The poll shows split in the party on climate change issues, value of American alliances, trade and immigration.
Trump has support for his views from his most passionate supporters, but Republicans who don’t like him very much are have similar opinion with the population. Americans are now more positive about the value of trade compared to the previous year. They now see refugees as less of a threat. More people, but not a majority, describe climate change as a critical threat to the country, and fewer are positive in their view of the Paris climate agreement.
According to the Council “Aside from the president’s core supporters, most Americans prefer the type of foreign policy that has been typical of U.S. administrations, be they Republican or Democrat, since World War II.”
Americans are more positive than they were a year ago on three measures of trade: whether it is good for the economy, good for consumers “like you” and good for creating U.S. jobs. According to the survey, record numbers of Americans now say that international trade is good for U.S. consumers (78%), for the U.S. economy (72%), and for job creation (57%).
In the meantime, 60 percent of Democrats say Trump’s policies are likely to harm American workers than to protect them, but more than 8 in 10 core Trump supporters say those policies will benefit workers. This group is defined as those with a very favorable view of Trump.
In the meantime, the study shows that the Americans are less alarmed than last year by the potential threat of large numbers of immigrants and refugees entering the country. Only 37 percent of Americans think that immigration is a critical threat. This is a new low in concern for this issue. Two-thirds, or 65 percent of Americans say undocumented immigrants should be provided a path to citizenship, with or without conditions. Still, there are partisan differences and the Republicans are about three times as likely as Democrats to call immigration a threat. 62 percent of non-Trump Republicans think that undocumented immigrants should be allowed to apply for citizenship, with or without a penalty.
According to the 2017 Chicago Council Survey, 6 in 10 Americans (62%) continue to favor U.S. participation in the Paris accord. Only 24 percent of core Trump supporters want the U.S. to participate in the agreement. Majorities of Democrats (83%) and Independents (60%) continue to support the Agreement. Last year, 57 percent of all Republicans supported U.S. participation, but this year that is down to 37 percent. At least 53 percent of non-Trump Republicans and 23 percent of Trump Republicans support the agreement.
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