Views of Trump’s Twitter Attack on Four Congresswomen Highly Partisan

Washington, DC, July 17, 2019 — The latest Ipsos poll, conducted on behalf of USA Today, finds that Democrats and Republicans are in stark disagreement over what behaviors are considered to be ‘American.’ While over half of Republicans agree that people who criticize America are un-American (52%), only 17% of Democrats agree. However, a majority of Americans (59%) consider Trump’s latest Twitter attack on four Democratic congresswomen, telling them to “go back” to their respective countries, un-American. Sentiments are highly partisan, with 88% of Democrats and just 25% of Republicans who agree with the statement.

Trump’s controversial tweets open a wider discussion about racism versus patriotism. Two-thirds (65%) agree that telling minority Americans to “go back to where they came from” is racist. However, there is a 40-percentage point difference between Democrats and Republicans on this (85% of Democrats agree vs. 45% of Republicans). Similarly, the vast majority of Republicans (70%) believe that people who call others “racist” usually do so in bad faith, whereas just 31% of Democrats believe the same

Americans come together on the idea that it is patriotic to point out where America falls short and try to do better. Almost three-quarters agree (72%), with majority support even across party lines (80% of Democrats and 68% of Republicans).

About the Study

These are the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between July 15-16, 2019 on behalf of USA Today. For this survey, a sample of roughly 1,005 adults age 18+ from the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii was interviewed online in English.  The sample includes 392 Democrats, 412 Republicans, and 113 Independents.

The sample for this study was randomly drawn from Ipsos’ online panel (see link below for more info on “Access Panels and Recruitment”), partner online panel sources, and “river” sampling (see link below for more info on the Ipsos “Ampario Overview” sample method) and does not rely on a population frame in the traditional sense. Ipsos uses fixed sample targets, unique to each study, in drawing a sample. After a sample has been obtained from the Ipsos panel, Ipsos calibrates respondent characteristics to be representative of the U.S. Population using standard procedures such as raking-ratio adjustments. The source of these population targets is U.S. Census 2016 American Community Survey data. The sample drawn for this study reflects fixed sample targets on demographics. Post-hoc weights were made to the population characteristics on gender, age, race/ethnicity, region, and education.

Statistical margins of error are not applicable to online non-probability polls. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error and measurement error. Where figures do not sum to 100, this is due to the effects of rounding. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for all respondents. Ipsos calculates a design effect (DEFF) for each study based on the variation of the weights, following the formula of Kish (1965). This study had a credibility interval adjusted for design effect of the following (n=1,005, DEFF=1.5, adjusted Confidence Interval=+/-5.0 percentage points).

The poll also has a credibility interval plus or minus 5.6 percentage points for Democrats, plus or minus 5.5 percentage points for Republicans, and plus or minus 10.5 percentage points for Independents.

For more information about conducting research intended for public release or Ipsos’ online polling methodology, please visit our Public Opinion Polling and Communication page where you can download our brochure, see our public release protocol, or contact us.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Chris Jackson
Vice President, US
Public Affairs
+1 202 420-2025
[email protected]

Mallory Newall
Director, US
Public Affairs
+1 202 420-2014
[email protected]  

About Ipsos

Ipsos is a global independent market research company. Our team of 18,000 across 90 countries serves 5,000 clients and undertakes 70,000 different projects each year. Our polling practice is a non-partisan, objective, survey-based research practice made up of seasoned professionals. We conduct strategic research initiatives for a diverse number of American and international organizations, based not only on public opinion research, but elite stakeholder, corporate, and media opinion research.

As a global research and insights organization, Ipsos aims to make our changing world easier and faster to navigate and to inspire our clients to make smarter decisions. We are committed to driving the industry with innovative, best-in-class research techniques that are meaningful in today’s connected society. We deliver research with security, speed, simplicity, and substance. Our tagline “Game Changers” summarizes our ambition.

Ipsos is committed to building an organization dedicated to a single endeavor: providing our clients with the best service, using qualitative or quantitative methods, at local, regional, and international levels. This is what drives us to ask and probe, to subject our hypotheses to rigorous analyses, and, finally, to deliver reliable data and the most effective recommendations in the shortest time possible. Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of €1,749.5 million in 2018.