Trump Muslim policy a winner with GOP voters: poll

WASHINGTON — A winner amongst Republicans and a big loser with the general public: according to a new poll, that’s the apparent net effect of Donald Trump’s controversial plan for a ban on Muslim travel. In findings that could hold significance for the 2016 U.S. election, the poll suggests a plurality of Republicans favour his plan for a religious control at the border – but not the broader American public. The NBC-Wall Street Journal survey suggests 25 per cent of Americans support the idea, 57 per cent oppose it and 18 per cent are not sure about a policy that has prompted a torrent of international condemnation. “It does indicate Trump has limited potential in a general election,” said Fred Yang, a Democratic pollster who presented the survey on NBC with a Republican colleague, Micah Roberts. But in one crucial detail, which is relevant to the fast-approaching presidential primaries, it appears the policy might not hurt his standing with the people who will soon pick the Republican nominee. On the contrary: The survey said 42 per cent of self-identified Republicans expressed support for the idea, 36 per cent opposed it and 22 per cent weren’t sure. The question on Trump’s Muslim proposal was asked Dec. 8-9 of 495 respondents and result has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. It appears a sense of panic has begun setting in within the Republican brass over the prospect of Trump winning the nomination, as he continues to lead intra-party surveys with less than two months before primaries begin. The Washington Post reported Thursday that senior figures within the party have begun planning the possibility of their first brokered convention since 1976. In that last brokered convention, the establishment rallied around incumbent president Gerald Ford to block then-insurgent Ronald Reagan.