A majority of Americans disagree with President Joe Biden and his difficult start on mass immigration at the southern border, according to the latest ABC News/Ipsos poll.
Not only do a majority view this as a "crisis" (54%), but an even larger majority (57%) disapprove of Biden's handling of 18,000 unaccompanied children detained at the southern border with Mexico.
Just 4% in the poll agree with the Biden suggestion this situation is not a serious problem, which was made at Thursday press conference, his first of his administration.
The partisan breakdown of disapproval of Biden's border policies:
- Republicans 89%.
- Independents 54%.
- Democrats 33%.
Biden and White House press secretary Jen Psaki have been overtly opposed to labeling what they have called a "challenge" and a "situation" at the border a "crisis." In fact, Psaki once slipped and mentioned crisis, then rejected the term when immediately pressed by a reporter if she truly felt this was a crisis at the border.
Biden has yet to visit the southern border, suggesting at his press conference Thursday he did not want to be a distraction. He also, notably, declined to commit yet to "transparency" at the border in permitting media coverage of the detention centers, which had been a frequent story during the Trump administration.
Biden suggested he wanted his immigration policies to get off the ground and take hold before the media can be allowed in to cover the situation.
President Biden is getting high marks for the slowly subsiding COVID-19 pandemic, as 72% approve of his handling of it and just 28% disapproving.
Other notable topics:
- 60% approval on the handling of the economy.
- 57% disapproval on the handling of gun control.
"Views on Biden's handling of top issues are deeply partisan," the pollsters wrote in their report of the findings. "Further illustrating this ongoing divide, the poll finds that an equal number of Americans say Biden is making the country more united as those who say more divided."
The ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted by March 26-27, 2021 among 517 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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