47 percent disapprove of Trump deployment of Marines to LA: Survey

Nearly half of Americans disagree with President Trump’s decision to send Marines to Los Angeles in response to ongoing mass protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a poll released Tuesday.

The YouGov flash poll found 47 percent of respondents disapproved of Trump’s military deployment to respond to the protests, while 34 percent agreed with the president’s move and 19 percent said they weren’t sure.

The results were split along party lines, with Democratic respondents six times as likely to disagree with Trump’s military involvement than Republicans. Half of Independents polled said they opposed the president’s call.

Trump deployed about 700 Marines on Tuesday to back up the 4,000 National Guardsmen the president sent to protect federal buildings and federal employees, despite objections from Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) over fears that military presence would heighten tensions.

The protests broke out over the weekend after news spread of ICE workplace raids on Friday.

The YouGov poll found Republican respondents were overwhelmingly supportive of sending Marines to L.A., with 68 percent approving of Trump’s call, while just 13 percent objected. Nineteen percent said they were not sure.

Meanwhile, three-quarters of the Democrats surveyed said they oppose the military action, and just 12 percent said they agree. The other 13 percent of Democrats said they were unsure.

The poll also found that Hispanic and Black respondents were more likely to disagree with Trump’s military order than their white peers, at 55 percent, 51 percent and 45 percent, respectively.

The survey of 4,309 U.S. adults was conducted Tuesday.