Are Republicans in Congress A Bigger Problem for Trump Than Democrats?

Voters think Republicans in Congress are nearly as big a threat to President Trump’s agenda as Democrats are.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 37% of Likely U.S. Voters believe congressional Republicans are a bigger problem for Trump than Democrats in Congress. Only slightly more (42%) see congressional Democrats as the bigger problem. Twenty percent (20%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Even 29% of GOP voters agree that congressional Republicans are the bigger problem, a view shared by 48% of Democrats and 33% of voters not affiliated with either major political party.

Just 29% of all voters think the president should continue to rely on congressional Republicans to pass his agenda. Twice as many (58%) say the president should reach out more to Democrats in Congress for help. Thirteen percent (13%) are undecided over which course is better for the president.

Voters believe Trump has a plan for where he wants to take the nation more than Republicans and Democrats do.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on March 30-April 2, 2017 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

The early clashes on Capitol Hill have hurt House Speaker Paul Ryan’s popularity and made the Democrats’ most visible congressional leader, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, more liked and more disliked.

Republican voters are almost evenly divided over whether the president should rely more on congressional Republicans to pass his agenda or reach out more to Democrats in Congress. Seventy-one percent (71%) of Democrats and 55% of unaffiliated voters believe Trump should seek help from congressional Democrats.

Those under 40 are more likely than their elders to see congressional Democrats as a bigger problem for Trump. Older voters are evenly divided over which party’s representatives are a bigger headache for the president. Voters 40 and over feel much more strongly, too, that the president should reach out to Democrats.

Most conservatives say the president should rely on congressional Republicans, but even larger majorities of moderates and liberals think he should turn to Democrats instead.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of voters who see congressional Republicans as the bigger problem say Trump should reach out to Democrats in Congress. Even among those who see congressional Democrats as the bigger problem, a plurality (49%) thinks the president should turn more to the opposition party.

After running as high as 55% following his inauguration on January 20, the president’s daily job approval ratings have now fallen into the low 40s.

Republicans give the president high marks for leadership so far. Democrats and unaffiliated voters don’t and think he’s too confrontational.

Voters agree with Trump’s emphasis on new jobs in his speech early last month to Congress, but they also think congressional Republicans should take their time when it comes to pushing the presidents’ policies through.

Congressional Democrats already say they will oppose everything the president attempts, but most voters think the Republican-Democrat divide is going to get even worse.

However, most also agree that it’s bad for America and bad for the Democratic Party if Democrats continue to oppose everything the president does. Even Democrats are conflicted about their party’s scorched earth policy.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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