World

Trump lead among Republicans undiminished in first poll after Muslim comments

Most Republican voters said they were not bothered by the presidential candidate's remarks

Reuters December 12, 2015

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves as he leaves the stage after speaking at the meeting of the New England Police Benevolent Association in Portsmouth, New Hampshire December 10, 2015. REUTERS/Mary Schwalm

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK: Donald Trump held onto his commanding lead in the Republican race for the White House after his call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States was condemned worldwide, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, the first national survey conducted entirely after the billionaire's remarks.

Trump led the pack of candidates seeking the Republican Party's nomination in the 2016 election with 35 per cent of support from Republican voters, the opinion poll released on Friday found, the same lead he held before Monday, when he said Muslim immigrants, students and other travelers should be barred from entering the country.

Trump's Muslim comments disqualify him from presidency: White House

Most Republican voters said they were not bothered by his remarks, though many said the comments could still hurt Trump's chances of becoming president. Twenty-nine percent of Republicans, who will pick the party's nominee for the November 2016 election, said they found Trump's remarks offensive against 64 per cent who did not.

"He's really saying what everybody else is feeling," said Donna Fee, 57, a personal caregiver from Missouri. Fee, a Republican, said she supports Trump and agreed with his proposal to bar Muslims. But she said his bluntness could hurt him with other voters.

"I really think he needs somebody to calm him down, you know. I really think he needs to learn to use a filter."

Still, in a sign of how Trump's rhetoric has polarized the electorate, 72 per cent of Democrats and 47 per cent of voters overall said they were offended by Trump's comments.

Forty-one per cent of Republicans polled said Trump's remarks could hurt his chances of becoming president; that figure was higher among all respondents.

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson came in second among Republicans with 12 per cent in the Reuters/Ipsos poll, and US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush tied with 10 per cent.

Trump's statement was by far the most dramatic response of a US presidential candidate to last week's shooting spree in California by a married couple whom the FBI later said had become Islamist militants some time ago.

Leaders in Britain, France, Israel and Canada denounced him, and the fallout hurt the real estate mogul's global brand. A Dubai firm building a $6 billion golf complex stripped Trump's name from the property.

Donald Trump calls for barring Muslims from entering US

But Trump's standing in opinion polls of Republican voters was unchanged in the data released on Friday, which covered responses from Dec 8-11. He had more than double the support of his nearest rivals in the online poll of 481 Republicans. The poll had a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 5 percentage points.

"He said stop letting them in temporarily until Homeland Security... can get a hold of what in the heck is going on and give us a little more protection," said Ardith Forrest, 76, of Georgia. She agreed with Trump's proposal. "Americans don’t seem to understand what danger is."

Alan Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University, said Trump's comments on Muslims were not that different from previous statements, pointing to Trump's idea to establish a registry of Muslims in the United States as an example.

"There's clearly a large segment of the Republican electoral base that responds very positively to the things Trump has been saying," Abramowitz said.

COMMENTS (7)

rbs | 8 years ago | Reply Trump is going to win the presidential election next year. My vote is for Donald Trump. He is the best candidate. He is direct and says what all other americans want america to do. All other candidates are trying to be politically correct to get the votes from minority groups. One more Paris or San Barino ..in US ..Trump will be President of USA.

Raj - USA | 8 years ago | Reply My advice to Trump: Don't generalize and target all muslims. They are different and their countries of origin are different. Generations and children who have grown up in different countries have their traits and tastes. Muslims of origins of some countries will belong to Muslim Students Association and can only think of Hijab. http://tribune.com.pk/story/1008750/us-high-school-students-join-muslim-peers-in-wearing-hijabs/ Muslims from one country that has 200 million muslim population and has almost wiped out all non-muslims and regularly kidnap, rape and convert minor non-muslim girls, would talk of muslims of a neighboring country that also has 200 million muslims and will also like terrorists to govern another neighboring country whilst all the time claiming itself to be the most affected by islamic terrorism. Trump should collect statistics on countries of origin of muslims from various countries, the associations and groups they sponsor and support the activities, etc., to arrive at a meaningful conclusion. I am sure that not one member of associations like Muslim Students Association of Vernon High School in Chicago would be from India. As I said earlier, and repeat here again: Muslims of origin from countries like India should keep their distance from others who are from countries that victimize their own (like Ahmedis, Ismailis, Mohajirs, Hazaras, etc.) and also all others, have a clauses in their constitution that promote victimization of some sects of their own religion and also followers of all other religions.