Polls

The Contrarian - A strong majority of Americans do not approve of deploying military troops at home. “Some 58% of Americans—including seven in 10 Democrats and half of Republicans—think the president should send armed troops only to face external threats,” according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Trump’s overall approval has dropped to 40%. Only 37% say the national guard should be deployed despite the governor’s objection.

Disapproval of his military deployment domestically has substantial increased from an NPR/Ipsos poll last month that found a significant plurality (47-37) opposed deploying guardsmen to cities, and a majority opposed deploying them to their own city (52-34).

Moreover, the deployments may be feeding the perception that Trump is abusing his power. The Pew Research Institute last week reported, “Overall, 49% of U.S. adults say Trump is trying to exercise more presidential power than previous presidents and that this is bad for the country.” Only 21% say he merely is exercising as much power as his predecessors.