54 percent of voters say Trump’s actions in DC are justified: Poll

More than half of respondents said they believed President Trump’s actions aimed at reducing crime in Washington, D.C., are justified, according to a Harvard Caps/Harris poll released Monday.

While 54 percent said the actions are justified, 46 percent of voters surveyed called Trump’s actions “unjustified and not necessary,” according to the poll. Opinions on Trump’s strategy to reduce crime in Washington were strongly divided along party lines, with 72 percent of Democrats calling the actions “unjustified and not necessary” and 85 percent of Republicans calling them “justified and necessary.” Among independents, 47 percent of respondents called Trump’s actions “justified and necessary,” while 53 percent said they were “unjustified and not necessary.”

The poll comes after Trump deployed the National Guard to the nation’s capital earlier this month and federalized the Metropolitan Police Department. Additionally, Trump declared a crime emergency in Washington.

“It’s clear Trump is moving from immigration to crime as a major focus and his efforts are receiving strong Republican and independent support,” said Mark Penn, co-director of the Harvard Caps-Harris poll.

The poll also found that 51 percent of voters said they believed the increased presence of the National Guard would make D.C. “more safe,” while 22 percent said they believed it would make the city “less safe.” Another 27 percent said it would have “no impact.”

Results varied in the poll when respondents were asked about their perception of crime in Washington, D.C.: 35 percent of respondents said they believed crime in the District was “increasing,” while 31 percent said they believed it was “decreasing.” Another 35 percent of respondents said they believed crime in the city was “staying about the same.”

The Harvard Caps/Harris poll was conducted online in the U.S. Aug. 20-21 among 2,025 registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.

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