Poll: Americans Think Biden Speech Divisive, But Right About Trump, MAGA GOP Threat 

Many Wyoming voters perspective on Trump, Biden, and MAGA GOP may not square with the opinions expressed in a recent nationwide survey.

CK
Coy Knobel

September 11, 20223 min read

Collage Maker 11 Sep 2022 12 08 PM
(Cowboy State Daily Staff)

By Coy Knobel, Cowboy State Daily
Coy@CowboyStateDaily.com 

In Wyoming, a GOP haven, many voters support former President Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.  President Joe Biden in a recent speech condemned Trump and these supporters.  A recent nation-wide poll suggests most people agree with Biden. 

However, the same poll also found that people were concerned Biden’s Philadelphia speech was throwing fuel on the fire, divisive.  

A separate nationwide poll from a consulting agency found that most Americans thought Biden’s speech was dangerous. 

Reuters/Ipsos took its poll Sept. 7.  It asked people about Biden’s Sept. 1 Philadelphia speech in which he sharply attacked Trump and all Republicans who subscribe to the MAGA agenda. Biden said this group questions the outcome of the 2020 election, which makes these folks a threat to democracy and the country. 

The Reuters/Ipsos survey found more than 6 in 10 Americans think that Trump and his MAGA supporters are a threat to the country. 

A Reuters news story by Jason Lange on the agency’s poll said it “found a majority of Americans believe Trump’s movement is undermining democracy.”  

“Fifty-eight percent of respondents in the two-day poll – including one in four Republicans – said Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ movement is threatening America’s democratic foundations,” Lange wrote.  

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online nationwide with responses from 1,003 adults with 14 more Democrats than Republicans.  

However, 59% percent of respondents said Biden’s speech will further divide the country, Lange wrote. But just about half of respondents said they didn’t watch or follow the speech at all.

The Trafalgar Group also conducted a survey regarding Biden’s speech condemning Trump and his supporters.  This nation-wide survey of 1,084 likely general election voters found most Americans believe that Biden, in giving such a speech, is himself a threat to the country. 

Almost 57% of respondents to the Trafalgar Group poll said Biden’s speech  “…represents a dangerous escalation in rhetoric and is designed to incite conflict amongst Americans.” 

About 35% of those responding to the Trafalgar poll said Biden’s speech was “acceptable campaign messaging that is to be expected in an election year.” 

 Different news outlets focused on different parts of the same Reuters Poll.    

The New York Post led with “…Biden’s attack on Trump, MAGA will further divide US.” The Rolling Stone focused on the 25% of Republican respondents who agreed that Trump and some other Republicans were a threat to the country.  

In reporting about its poll, Reuters also started with the results indicating a majority of Americans believe Biden’s fiery attack speech that said “Trump’s movement is undermining democracy.”

In the August primary election, Wyoming voters elected candidates who have questioned the outcome of the 2020 election.  Trump won a larger share of support in Wyoming in 2020 than in any other state.  This year, Wyoming gave Biden his lowest job approval rating in the country, according a Morning Consult Political Intelligence survey.

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Coy Knobel

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