Poll Shows Majority Don’t Believe Border Deal Will Be Reached

A recent poll conducted by Hill-Harris X shows there is a general consensus among those surveyed that President Donald Trump and Congressional leaders’ border security negotiations will not result in an agreement.

The Hill writes that 72 percent of registered voters polled think no deal will be reached, while only 28 percent believe otherwise.

Lawmakers aiming to reach a deal met for the first time on Wednesday, the same day President Trump himself expressed skepticism of their efforts.

“If the committee of Republicans and Democrats now meeting on Border Security is not discussing or contemplating a Wall or Physical Barrier, they are Wasting their time!” Trump tweeted.

The partial government shutdown, the longest one in U.S. history, ended Friday with a measure signed by the President that will put off another shutdown until February 16. The measure aims at giving lawmakers time to negotiate a deal on funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

President Trump has long insisted that $5.7 billion be provided for his promised border wall, but Democrats have been adamant from the start the funding was a non-starter. They have, however, offered concessions in efforts to reach a border deal.

Among the surveyed, 38 percent think there will be another government shutdown and another 34 percent believe President Trump will declare a national emergency to get the funds for his wall. Out of those 38 percent expecting another shutdown to happen, Democratic voter and independents were the most likely to hold that opinion.

Republican voters, on the other hand, were far more optimistic, believing that a deal could be reached. Thirty-three percent of them said they expected such an outcome, while among independents and Democrats, these figures were 21 and 30 percent respectively.

Trump was widely seen as losing the political battle over the shutdown given polls that showed more people blamed him for the closure than Democrats.

However, only 23 percent of those surveyed said they believed Trump ended the shutdown because he thought the public was blaming Republicans for it. Another 47 percent believe it was a result of his realization that the government closure was hurting the country and federal employees, and 30 percent believe the President signed the measure because Speaker Nancy Pelosi had made clear she would not deal with him until the shutdown had ended.

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