What the early polls say about the shutdown: From the Politics Desk
Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, a newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
It’s Day 2 of the government shutdown and there’s still no end in sight. In today’s edition, Sahil Kapur and Ben Kamisar sift through the initial polls to see how the standoff is landing with the American public.
Plus, Kristen Welker sits down with Andrew Cuomo for his first national interview since Eric Adams dropped out of the New York City mayoral race.
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— Adam Wollner
Early polls show Trump and GOP taking more blame than Democrats for shutdown
By Sahil Kapur and Ben Kamsiar
Americans are more inclined to blame President Donald Trump and Republicans for the government shutdown, according to four independent national polls conducted just before or during the funding lapse.
But there is fluidity in the political fight, as the surveys show a significant share of voters aren’t sure who to blame. The shutdown is only in its second day and, as Republicans and Democrats sharpen their messages, it’s not clear how long the impasse will last.
Here’s what the four polls say:
- A Washington Post poll conducted on Oct. 1, the first day of the shutdown, found that 47% of U.S. adults blame Trump and Republicans in Congress, while 30% blame Democrats and 23% say they’re not sure. The survey found that independents blame Trump and Republicans over Democrats by a wide margin of 50% to 22%. And one-third of Republicans were either unsure who to blame (25%) or blame their party (8%).
- A New York Times/Siena poll taken in late September found that blaming both sides equally for a shutdown was the most popular answer, chosen by 33% of registered voters. Another 26% would blame Trump and Republicans, while 19% would blame Democrats and 21% said they hadn’t heard enough to say.
- A poll by Marist, PBS News and NPR in late September found that 38% would blame Republicans, while 27% said they’d blame Democrats. Another 31% said they’d blame both parties equally and 5% said they’d blame neither or were unsure who was at fault.
- In a Morning Consult poll taken in late September, 45% of registered voters said they’d blame Republicans in Congress for a shutdown, while 32% said they’d blame Democrats. Another 16% had no opinion, while 7% chose “other.” Independents blamed Republicans over Democrats by a margin of 41% to 24%.
Read more from Sahil and Ben →
Catch up on our shutdown coverage:
- White House is looking at laying off ‘thousands’ of workers, by Tara Prindiville and Dareh Gregorian
- Battered by mass firings and DOGE drama, federal workers now brace for weeks without pay, by Shannon Pettypiece
- Education Department employees surprised to find their email automatically changed to blame Democrats for shutdown, by Natasha Korecki, Amanda Terkel, Monica Alba and Matt Dixon
- What the shutdown means for Medicare, Medicaid and other health programs, by Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
- WIC food assistance program for moms and children could run out of funds if shutdown persists, by Aria Bendix
- Follow live updates →
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