fbpx
Supporters of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hold their hands to their chest as the national anthem is played at a campaign rally in Concord, New Hampshire January 18, 2016. REUTERS/Gretchen Ertl/File photo

Trump supporters see Iraqi, Syrian refugees as major threat: report

Loading

By Idrees Ali

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Supporters of Donald Trump, the presumptive U.S. Republican presidential nominee, see refugees arriving from Iraq and Syria as one of the greatest threats to the United States, according to a study released on Thursday by the Pew Research Center.

Muslims pray as they take part in a protest against presidential candidate Donald Trump outside of his office in Manhattan, New York December 20, 2015. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File photo
Muslims pray as they take part in a protest against presidential candidate Donald Trump outside of his office in Manhattan, New York December 20, 2015. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File photo

Eighty-five percent of respondents who said they supported Trump saw the refugees fleeing the Islamic State militant group as a threat, compared with 74 percent of Republicans overall, said the study.

Only 40 percent of Democrats viewed the refugees from the region as a major threat.

Trump’s campaign said in a statement last December that he was “calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”

His comments followed fatal attacks in Paris claimed by Islamic State and a deadly shooting spree in San Bernardino, California, by a Muslim couple who the FBI said had been radicalized.

U.S. President Barack Obama’s promise to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year has sparked a backlash from Republicans, concerned that violent militants could come into the United States posing as refugees. More than 30 governors have tried to block refugees from their states.

There are nearly 5 million registered Syrian refugees according to the United Nations, a result of a war in which more than 250,000 people have been killed.

The Pew report, based mostly on telephone interviews with about 2,000 U.S. adults from April 12 to 19, found that 65 percent of Trump supporters also saw the U.S. involvement in the global economy in a negative light.

There were also contradictions among Americans when asked about U.S. defense spending and foreign military action.

Although 35 percent of all respondents said they were in support of increasing defense spending, the highest level of support since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, almost 60 percent said other countries should deal with their own problems.

Respondents overall saw Islamic State as the top foreign policy concern, followed by cyber attacks and global economic instability, according to the report.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Check Also

Elaine Snider

Spokane YouTuber Shares Her Faith Through Video Series

Faith has always been an important part of Elaine Snider’s life, to the point where she took theology classes and considered becoming a chaplain. More recently that faith has been expressed through her YouTube channel, "The Whimsical Byzantine," and video reenactments centered on the Nicene Creed.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x