Views of the Economy by Party --- Now / Reps Dems Inds Reps Dems Inds Good 61% 67% 56% 31% 78% 53% Bad

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Chloe Chase
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CBS NEWS POLL For release: Thursday, February 23, 2017 7:00 am EST Optimism on the Economy, Concern About Immigration February 17-21, 2017 Evaluations of the nation s economy are the most positive

1 CBS NEWS POLL For release: Thursday, February 23, :00 am EST Optimism on the Economy, Concern About Immigration February 17-21, 2017 Evaluations of the nation s economy are the most positive they ve been in 10 years, largely due to optimism among Republicans. Americans name immigration as the most important issue for the President and Congress to address this year, followed by the economy and health care. As the Trump administration prepares a new executive order concerning entrance into the U.S., 55% of Americans say not enough is being done to ensure that foreigners who enter the U.S. are not a risk to security; Republicans are particularly concerned. Most Americans continue to support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants currently in the U.S. Opposition remains to building of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. President Trump gets his strongest ratings on handling the economy (44% approve, while 38% disapprove) and six in 10 are very or somewhat confident that his policies will create jobs. He gets lower marks on immigration, but 78% of Republicans approve of his handling of the issue. At 39%, Mr. Trump s overall approval rating is similar to what it was earlier this month. Views of the President remain highly partisan: most Republicans are supportive, while most Democrats are not. The State of the Economy 61% now say the economy is in good shape the highest that figure has been in ten years in CBS News Polls, before the Great Recession. Views of the Economy Now 12/2016 9/ / /2014 9/2013 9/2011 2/2009 2/2008 2/2007 Good 61% 55% 56% 46% 43% 35% 14% 5% 29% 62% Bad Improved views of the economy are driven largely by increased positive assessments among Republicans. 61% of Republicans now say the economy is good, a jump of 30 points since December, before Donald Trump was sworn in as President. The percentage of Democrats who think the economy is in good shape has dipped, but most still rate it positively. Views of the Economy by Party --- Now / Reps Dems Inds Reps Dems Inds Good 61% 67% 56% 31% 78% 53% Bad

2 A third of Americans think the economy is getting better. 54% of Republicans think the economy is improving, up from 28% in December. Only 15% of Democrats now say the economy is improving, down from 46% at the end of last year. Direction of the Economy Getting better 31% 54% 15% 29% Getting worse Staying the same % of Americans think the country is headed in the right direction, while 60% think it is seriously off on the wrong track. Immigration When Americans are asked to name the most important problem for the President and Congress to address this year, immigration is the top answer, cited by 15%. This is closely followed by the economy and jobs (13%) and health care (11%). Republicans are especially likely to say immigration should be the chief priority for the President and Congress. Most Important Problem for the President & Congress to Address Immigration 15% 25% 8% 14% Economy and jobs Health care President Trump Lack of unity/community Misc. social issues Most of the poll was conducted before the release of memos by the Trump administration addressing deportation and illegal immigration. This poll finds a majority of Americans think that not enough is being done to ensure that foreigners who enter the U.S. from other countries are not a risk to security. Three in four Republicans think not enough is being done. The Trump administration is expected to unveil a new executive order soon concerning entry to the U.S. from other countries. Is Enough Being Done to Make Sure Foreigners Entering the U.S. aren t Security Risk? Enough is being done 40% 21% 56% 40% Not enough is being done While Americans express concern about the potential security risk regarding people coming to the U.S. from other countries, most continue to support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the U.S. Six in ten Americans think that illegal immigrants currently living in the U.S. should be allowed to stay and apply for citizenship. Another 13% think they should be permitted to stay but not apply for citizenship, and 23% would require them to leave the U.S. These percentages have changed little over the past few years. 43% of Republicans support requiring illegal immigrants to leave the country; 79% of Democrats think they should be allowed to apply for citizenship, as do 60% of independents. 2

3 Illegal Immigrants Living in the U.S. Should Stay and apply for citizenship 60% 36% 79% 60% Stay, but not be allowed to apply Be required to leave the U.S Just one in five think that illegal immigrants are more likely than American citizens to commit crimes, rising to 38% among Republicans. How Likely are Illegal Immigrants to Commit Crimes Compared to American Citizens? More likely 20% 38% 9% 17% Less likely About as likely As discussion continues about the proposed wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, nearly six in ten Americans oppose building a wall, while 39% favor that. Republicans are far more likely to support this measure: 77% favor the wall. Just 11% of Democrats do. Rating President Trump Building a Wall Along U.S.-Mexico Border Favor 39% 77% 11% 36% Oppose On specific issues, President Trump gets his most positive marks on handling the economy and the public splits on the job he is doing on terrorism. However, majorities disapprove of Mr. Trump s handling of foreign policy and immigration. Here too, views are highly partisan. President Trump s Ratings on Issues Approve Disapprove Economy 44% 38 Terrorism 44% 46 Foreign policy 34% 53 Immigration 39% 55 Much of Mr. Trump s campaign for president focused on keeping jobs in the U.S. Six in 10 Americans are very or somewhat confident that President Trump s policies will create jobs. Confident Trump s Policies Will Create Jobs Very/somewhat 59% 92% 30% 59% Not very/not at all Just over a month after taking office, President Trump s overall job approval rating is 39% -- similar to what it was earlier this month. 51% of Americans disapprove, and 10% don t have an opinion. 3

4 President Trump s Job Rating Now 2/3/2017 Approve 39% 40% Disapprove Don t know Views continue to be strikingly partisan: more than eight in 10 Republicans approve of Mr. Trump s job performance and more than eight in 10 Democrats disapprove. Independents are more likely to disapprove than approve. President Trump s Job Rating Approve 39% 82% 6% 37% Disapprove Don t know This poll was conducted by telephone February 17-21, 2017 among a random sample of 1,280 adults nationwide. Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by SSRS of Media, PA. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The poll employed a random digit dial methodology. For the landline sample, a respondent was randomly selected from all adults in the household. For the cell sample, interviews were conducted with the person who answered the phone. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish using live interviewers. The data have been weighted to reflect U.S. Census figures on demographic variables. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher and is available by request. The margin of error includes the effects of standard weighting procedures which enlarge sampling error slightly. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. 4

5 CBS NEWS POLL Optimism on the Economy, Concern about Immigration February 17-21, 2017 Q1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president? ** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ** Total Rep Dem Ind Feb17a % % % % % Approve Disapprove Don't know/no answer Q2. Do you feel things in this country are generally going in the right direction or do you feel things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track? Jan17b Right direction Wrong track Don't know/no answer Q3. What do you think is the single most important problem for the government--that is, the President and Congress--to address in the coming year? Jan03c % Immigration/illegal immigrants Economy & jobs Health care Donald Trump/the president Community/lack of unity Miscellaneous social issues Poverty/homelessness Environment/global warming 2 * Racism/race relations 2 * Education 2 * Foreign policy/foreign affairs Defense/military/national security Partisan politics/gridlock Budget/national debt/deficit Homeland security Other Don't know/no answer Q4. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling foreign policy? Approve Disapprove Don't know/no answer

6 Q5. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling the economy? ** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ** Total Rep Dem Ind Feb17a % % % % % Approve Disapprove Don't know/no answer Q6. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling the threat of terrorism? Approve Disapprove Don't know/no answer Q7. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling the issue of immigration? Approve Disapprove Don't know/no answer Q8. How would you rate the condition of the national economy these days? Is it very good, fairly good, fairly bad, or very bad? Dec16a % Very good Fairly good Fairly bad Very bad Don't know/no answer Q9. Do you think the economy is getting better, getting worse, or staying about the same? Better Worse Same Don't know/no answer Q10-Q39 SEPARATE RELEASE Q37. How confident are you that Donald Trump s policies will create jobs--very confident, somewhat confident, not very confident, or not at all confident? Very confident Somewhat confident Not very confident Not at all confident Don't know/no answer 1 * 2 1 6

7 Q38 Q41 SEPARATE RELEASE Q42. In general, do you think enough is being done to ensure that foreigners who enter the United States from other countries are not a risk to the security of the United States, or do you think not enough is being done? ** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ** Total Rep Dem Ind % % % % Enough is being done Not enough is being done Too much being done Don't know/no answer Q43-Q47 SEPARATE RELEASE Q48. Which comes closest to your view about ILLEGAL immigrants who are living in the U.S.? 1. They should be allowed to stay in the U.S. and eventually apply for citizenship, 2. They should be allowed to stay in the U.S. legally, but not be allowed to apply for citizenship or 3. They should be required to leave the U.S. Jan17b Stay and apply for citizenship Stay legally, but not apply Required to leave Don't know/no answer Q49. Compared to American citizens, how likely do you think ILLEGAL immigrants are to commit crimes -- are illegal immigrants more likely, less likely, or about as likely to commit crimes as American citizens? Sep16a More likely Less likely About as likely Don't know/no answer Q50. Would you favor or oppose building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to try to stop illegal immigration? Jan17b Favor Oppose Don't know/no answer Unweighted Total Respondents 1,280 Weighted Republicans Democrats Independents

Support for Restoring U.S.-Cuba Relations March 11-15, 2016

CBS NEWS/NEW YORK TIMES POLL For release: Monday, March 21, 2016 7:00 am EDT Support for Restoring U.S.-Cuba Relations March 11-15, 2016 Amid President Barack Obama s historic trip to Cuba, a majority