April 11 (UPI) — Almost half of Americans support President Donald Trump‘s plan to secure the U.S.-Mexico border with National Guard troops, a new survey showed Wednesday.
Forty-eight percent in a Politico and Morning Consult poll said they support the idea, while 42 percent said they oppose.
“Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard troops is a hugely popular move with his base,” Morning Consult Chief Research Officer Kyle Dropp said. “Sixty percent of Trump voters ‘strongly’ approve of the decision. Among this same group, 49 percent ‘strongly’ approve of Trump’s job performance overall.”
This week, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey committed hundreds of troops to the border and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as many as 1,400.
Just 22 percent of Democratic voters support sending troops to the border, compared with 84 percent of Republicans. Independents are evenly divided, with 44 percent supporting each position.
When asked which party should handle immigration, 43 percent said Republicans and 39 percent answered Democrats. Thirty-six percent said building a border wall is a priority, and 54 percent said it’s not.
Trump’s decision to send troops to the border is more popular than his job approval, with the poll showing just 43 percent approve of his performance. A majority (52 percent) disapprove of Trump’s job performance.
Vice President Mike Pence had a 43 percent favorable rating, with 42 percent viewing him unfavorably.
The survey polled about 2,000 registered voters and has a margin of error of 2 points.
