Most back White House protests, oppose force
The police crackdown to clear protesters from Lafayette Park last week looms as a defining moment in the national debate over race and law enforcement that has been sparked by the death of George Floyd.
An exclusive USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll finds Americans overwhelmingly endorse the right of peaceful protest outside the White House – a view held by nearly 9 of 10 people across racial and partisan lines. Nearly 9 of 10 had heard about the clashes that cleared demonstrators before President Donald Trump walked across the square to stand in front of historic St. John’s Church, holding aloft a Bible.
By 83%-17%, those familiar with the event say they believe law enforcement fired rubber bullets and used tear gas on the protesters then, a point of contention. About two-thirds of all Americans, 63%, oppose that show of force.
“That was a bad call,” said Aaron Jones, 40, a Republican from Katy, Texas. Charles Ritt, 56, a Democrat from Roseville, Minnesota, who watched the scene unfold on TV, called it “disgusting and ridiculous.”
Some of those surveyed sided with law enforcement, however. Thirty percent of those surveyed, including 50% of Republicans, supported the use of rubber bullets and tear gas in the park.
The online poll of 1,113 adults, taken Monday and Tuesday, has a credibility interval, akin to a margin of error, of 3.3 percentage points.
Divisions along racial and especially partisan lines remain, including when it comes to finding the right balance between protecting peaceful protests and ensuring law and order. On that, Americans are split down the middle: 45% say law and order should be the priority, 44% say the right to protest should be the priority.
But the poll also underscores the degree to which the president’s provocative comments about racial justice seem out of step with the mood of the country. The poll was being conducted when Trump posted a controversial tweet Tuesday that made unsubstantiated accusations against a 75-year-old protester who was pushed to the ground and injured by police in Buffalo, New York.
Just 38% of Americans say they trust Trump to promote justice and equal treatment for people of all races – much lower than the Black Lives Matter movement, trusted by 60%, or than the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, trusted by 51%.
On some questions, the partisan divide is yawning.
❚ Three-fourths of Democrats, 73%, say the protests following Floyd’s death have been mostly peaceful; 54% of Republicans say they have been mostly violent.
❚ Two-thirds of Democrats, 65%, say the right to protest is the most important thing to ensure, “even if it means there are some incidents of violence.” Two-thirds of Republicans, 69%, say law and order is the most important thing to ensure, “even if it means limiting peaceful protests.”
❚ Three-fourths of Democrats, 75%, oppose the idea of deploying U.S. military forces to other states in the wake of the Lafayette Park protest. Twothirds of Republicans, 68%, support the idea.
“Views toward George Floyd’s killing and the subsequent protests tell a tale of two Americas,” said Cliff Young, president of Ipsos.
There are jarring differences along partisan lines about what institutions and forces can be trusted to promote justice and equal treatment. Republicans most trust the U.S. military (89%) and local police and law enforcement (79%). Democrats most trust Black Lives Matter (84%) and Joe Biden (78%).
The divide is also racial. Blacks express much lower levels of trust in local police and law enforcement than whites do, 28% compared with 65%.
That said, a solid majority of Americans agree on some basics. Sixty percent say Floyd was murdered; just 2% say the police officer “did nothing wrong.” Sixty-five percent support the protests, and 87% support protesting peacefully outside the White House.