Almost immediately after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis, the Trump administration wasted little time settling on a narrative that it expected Americans to believe: The victim, a 37-year-old mom, was the villain of the story.
The American mainstream didn’t buy it. A national Economist/YouGov poll, for example, found the vast majority of Americans are familiar with what transpired in Minneapolis, and by a 20-point margin, people saw the shooting as unjustified (50% vs. 30%). The same poll also found that a 47% plurality said ICE is making Americans less safe, while a 46% plurality said ICE should be abolished altogether.
Around the same time, a Quinnipiac University poll found that 57% of Americans disapproved of the way ICE was enforcing immigration laws, while 40% approved.
Nearly two weeks later, federal immigration agents shot and killed a nurse named Alex Pretti, at which point Team Trump again tried to smear the victim. Again, most Americans appear unpersuaded by the White House’s line.
The latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, for example, found 65% of Americans agree that ICE agents are going “too far.”
The same national survey found Trump’s overall approval rating dipping to just 39%, with 56% disapproving. But just as notably, 51% of the public said they “strongly” disapprove of the president, which is the worst he’s ever fared in that poll, across both of his terms in the White House.
The results dovetailed with the latest Quinnipiac poll, which found the number of Americans disapproving of ICE’s actions climbing to 63%, while 61% do not believe ICE agents should be permitted to wear masks or other face coverings. The same survey showed Trump’s approval rating slipping to 37%, down three points from last month, with 52% saying they “strongly” disapprove of the president.
As bad as this looks for the president’s agenda, there’s yet another element of the results that stood out for me. From Quinnipiac’s review of its data: Nearly 6 out of 10 voters (58 percent) think Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem should be removed from her job, while 34 percent think she should remain in her job. ‘A strong no confidence vote for the beleaguered top cop at Homeland Security whose agency’s job performance is considered dismal enough by voters that she should be let go,’ [Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy said]. On Capitol Hill, a growing, bipartisan group of lawmakers have called for Noem’s ouster, and the number of House Democrats backing an impeachment resolution against the South Dakota Republican is up to 187. Whether Trump cares or not, the DHS secretary is an increasingly obvious political liability.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
Latest Post
Recommended
