WASHINGTON (AP) — As armed National Guard troops patrol the nation’s capital as part of an unprecedented federal takeover of Washington’s police department, handling crime is now a relative strength for President Donald Trump, according to the latest AP-NORC poll.
Americans are generally not happy about the Republican president’s handling of issues like immigration and the economy but are more positive about his tough-on-crime approach, according to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Indeed, the vast majority of Americans, 81%, see crime as a “major problem” in large cities — a concern Donald Trump has seized on as he has deployed the National Guard to the District of Columbia and threatened to expand that model to cities across the country. And his overall approval rating has increased slightly, from 40% in July to 45% now.
But the poll shows there is less public support for federal takeovers of local police departments, suggesting opinions could shift over the coming weeks or months, depending on how aggressively Trump pursues his threats.
For now, many Republicans in particular feel extreme action needs to be taken, even as statistics show violent crime is down in Washington and across the nation following a coronavirus pandemic-era spike.
“About damn time that somebody did something,” said Charles Arnold, 87, a lifelong Republican who lives in San Diego.
Arnold, a retired electronics technician and veteran who served in the Navy, said that it had been jarring to see the National Guard being used for domestic law enforcement on U.S. soil but that the action seemed to be necessary.
“That’s not what the armed forces are for. They shouldn’t be there. They shouldn’t have to be there. The police should be allowed to police,” he said. “I detest the thought that it needs to be done.”
Handling crime is a strength for Trump
About half of U.S. adults, 53%, say they approve of Trump’s handling of crime, the poll finds.
That’s higher than his approval rating on the economy, immigration and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine — which are in line with his overall approval rating.
Trump’s approach on crime is similarly popular among white and Hispanic adults, with roughly half in each group saying they approve of the way he’s handling the issue. Black adults, however, are substantially less likely to say they’re on board with Trump’s approach to crime, with just 27% in favor.
Trump also garners much stronger support from independents on crime than on other issues. Roughly half of independents approve of his handling of crime, compared with about 3 in 10 who approve of his handling of the economy, immigration and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Most think crime is a ‘major problem’ for large cities
There’s broad agreement among Americans that crime is a significant issue in large cities, even with incident numbers in decline.
That belief is especially pronounced among Republicans, nearly all of whom see crime as a significant problem in large cities. Roughly 7 in 10 independents and Democrats agree.
Americans who live in urban areas are also more likely to say crime is a “major problem” in their own communities.
They include Tiana Parker, 30, a liberal Democrat who lives in the suburbs of Seattle. Parker is dismayed by what Trump is doing in Washington, D.C. — and his presidency overall — but nonetheless calls crime “a major problem.”
“I don’t feel safe going to Seattle, especially as a woman, at least not by myself,” said Parker, who said she was sexually assaulted on the train several years ago. There was a deadly shooting at a strip mall near where she lives last year, and there have been several times she said she has been followed while walking down the street.
While she thinks crime needs to be addressed, she believes Trump’s approach is misguided and dangerous.
“What he is doing is a waste of resources, and he’s not really attacking the real problem. It’s creating a real divide,” she said. “I think that it is a gross lack of respect and trust towards his citizens.”
That sentiment is shared by Mark Hackl, 49, an information technology director who lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was a lifelong conservative Republican until 2016, when he left the party because he was dismayed by Trump. He is now a registered independent.
“I think crime is always an issue that needs to be addressed,” he said. “I’m always pro-law and order, so to speak.” But he said there comes a point where the ends don’t justify the means.
“My raw emotion is I’m horrified by it,” he said. “We’re not supposed to allow the active military to function in the borders of the United States.”
More think federal government should support police, rather than taking over
Still, there are limits to what the public may accept. The poll finds 55% of U.S. adults believe it is “completely” or “somewhat” unacceptable for the federal government to take control of local police departments, as Trump has effectively done in Washington.
Republicans are overwhelmingly in favor of the federal government using the military and the National Guard to assist local police, but even they are more hesitant about the federal government taking control of local police departments.
About half of Republicans find this to be acceptable, while about one-third say it’s not. Democrats are broadly opposed to both.
For Republican David Gehret, 62, a maintenance technician who lives in rural Narvon, Pennsylvania, what Trump is doing is spot on.
“Bring it on,” he said. “Protect us.”
___ Colvin reported from New York.
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The AP-NORC poll of 1,182 adults was conducted Aug. 21-25, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
