60 percent of Americans blame Trump for shutdown: poll

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - A majority of Americans hold U.S. President Donald Trump responsible for the record-long partial government shutdown, according to a poll released Thursday.

The poll, conducted by The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, suggests the current stalemate in Washington is lowering the president's approval ratings.

There are 60 percent of Americans who say Trump has a "great deal" of responsibility for the shutdown, now is its 34th day, while only 34 percent approve of the job the president is doing.

Roughly one-third of Americans say the blame should be on congressional Democrats, 31 percent, or Republicans, 36 percent, according to the polling data.

The poll suggested even higher numbers for Democrats, finding 87 percent blamed Trump for the shutdown. In comparison, 58 percent of Republicans placed the blame on Democrats in Congress.

Most Americans, 65 percent, however, agree that the shutdown is a major problem.

Trump's demand for money to create his southern border wall, which is one of the main factors playing into the shutdown, is also unpopular with 49 percent opposed to the wall, according to the polls.

Trump has demanded nearly $6 billion dollars in funding for the wall as a precedent to reopening the government, a request Democrats in Congress have refused to comply.

The poll was conducted from Jan. 16 to Jan. 20 and surveyed 1,062 Americans with an error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points.