Americans increasingly concerned about government shutdown, more blame Republicans and Trump than Democrats: Poll
ByEmily Guskin
Thursday marks the 30th day of the federal government shutdown and the American public has grown more concerned about the shutdown throughout the month and more disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling the federal government, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel.
More Americans blame Trump and the Republicans in Congress than the Democrats for the shutdown, the poll finds.
Three-quarters of Americans say they are concerned about the government shutdown, up from two-thirds who said the same on the first day of the shutdown in a Washington Post poll. Now, 43% of Americans say that they are "very" concerned about the shutdown, up from 25% on Oct. 1.
Nearly half of Americans, 45%, say Trump and congressional Republicans are responsible for the shutdown, while 33% say congressional Democrats are responsible and another 22% are not sure. That is barely a shift from the Post’s poll on Oct. 1 when 47% blamed Trump and Republicans, 30% blamed Democrats and 23% were unsure at the onset of the shutdown.
Democrats are more united, saying that Trump and Republicans are to blame for the shutdown (81%) than Republicans saying Democrats are to blame (72%). Twice as many independents say Trump and Republicans are responsible (46%) than Democrats (23%).
Majorities across partisan lines say they are concerned about the shutdown: Nearly nine in 10 Democrats along with over seven in 10 independents and over six in 10 Republicans are concerned about the shutdown, but more Democrats say they are “very” concerned (62%) than independents (43%) or Republicans (26%).
Concern over the shutdown is higher among women, with 81% voicing concern, compared with 68% of men.
And a growing share of Americans disapprove of how Trump is managing the federal government. In all, 63% disapprove today, up from 57% in April and 54% in February. Just over a third (36%) approve in the most recent poll.
The ABC/Post/Ipsos poll asked Americans to explain why they think either Trump and Republicans or Democrats are to blame for the federal government shutting down. Here are some of their written responses:
Among those blaming Trump and Republicans:
"They won't budge on the concerns of healthcare premiums skyrocketing for all Americans. He is not for all Americans, only his interests matter," said a 65-year-old Democratic woman in Wisconsin.
"They seem more interested in keeping power than working for the country's benefit," said a 78-year-old Republican-leaning independent man in Oregon.
"They control all of the portions of the federal government," said a 45-year-old Democratic man in Tennessee.
"Trump is the president and the Republicans hold the majority. Not only that, Speaker Johnson let out the House on vacation, and Trump/Republicans won’t even try to work with Democrats on the loss of healthcare funding that is going to hurt millions of people," said a 34-year-old Democratic woman in Minnesota.
"Trump said it himself a few years ago that it’s the President’s job to bring the 2 sides together," said a 59-year-old Democratic-leaning independent woman in Pennsylvania.
"President Trump and the Maga GOP are refusing to negotiate over the Affordable Care Act expiration regardless of the negative impact on many of their supporters and they have no alternative plans for keeping the cost of healthcare from rising," said a 69-year-old Democratic woman in Virginia.
"The Republicans control Congress. They won’t negotiate. Of course they’re responsible. We cannot take healthcare away from millions of Americans,” said a 40-year-old Democratic woman in Iowa.
“They refuse to negotiate in good faith,” said a 78-year-old Democratic-leaning independent man in Ohio.