Farm Progress

Trump supporters split from conservatives

New poll find those who voted for Trump lean towards leaving most government agencies and departments alone.

Jacqui Fatka, Policy editor

December 30, 2016

3 Min Read

When it comes to campaign rhetoric transforming into political reality, a new survey sheds light on what self-identified Trump supporters want the newly elected president to do with his new executive power.

A majority of voters that supported President-elect Donald Trump want to keep or grow government funding across a wide range of federal agencies and issue areas in a break with traditional conservative cuts, according to a new Glover Park Group (GPG) poll conducted by Morning Consult.

The poll, conducted online from Dec. 11-13 among 2,000 self-identified Trump voters nationwide, is the first since the election to deeply examine the policy views of these voters on a wide variety of issues the president-elect and the new Congress will face as they prepare to take office.

Trump made a strong campaign push on his views on trade. Trade I believe is the one area where agriculture has a lot of selling to do with the next administration on the importance of trade. Trump voters are fairly evenly split on trade, with 44% saying foreign trade is an opportunity and 41% saying it’s a threat.

A majority of those surveyed (51%) said the U.S. should withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Only 26% said the U.S. should stay in NAFTA, while 23% said they were unsure. A solid majority (72%) feel that Trump will have a positive impact on the U.S. ability to do business globally.

Trump voters also lean towards leaving most, but not all, government agencies and departments alone. The survey found that 46% of respondents feel the U.S. Department of Agriculture should be left alone, while 15% said its power should be expanded. Only 1% said it should be eliminated and 24% said its power should be limited.

The Environmental Protection Agency, another sore spot in rural America, had 34% say its powers should be limited, while 32% said the agency should be left alone. Only 10% of respondents said EPA’s powers should be expanded.

Among the highlights related to government spending, voters who supported President-elect Trump said they want to increase spending on immigration enforcement, the military, homeland security, infrastructure and Social Security. They also believe spending levels should be maintained for environmental protection and conservation, renewable energy and farm subsidies.

And the two areas they want to decrease spending? Foreign aid and welfare.

Trump has promised to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure development such as roads, bridges and airports over a 10-year period. The survey found 53% said this is the right amount, while 20% said it was too much and another 11% said it was not enough.

Despite Trump’s criticism of climate change, and naming many members to his cabinet with the same views, 55% percent support upholding current climate change policies, while 30% say the U.S. should implement policies that go even further.

The survey also asked the role the government should take related to food labeling. An estimated 70% of respondents felt government should be doing more to ensure transparency and consistency across claims like “healthy,” “organic,” “natural” or “antibiotic free.”

 

About the Author(s)

Jacqui Fatka

Policy editor, Farm Futures

Jacqui Fatka grew up on a diversified livestock and grain farm in southwest Iowa and graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications, with a minor in agriculture education, in 2003. She’s been writing for agricultural audiences ever since. In college, she interned with Wallaces Farmer and cultivated her love of ag policy during an internship with the Iowa Pork Producers Association, working in Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Capitol Hill press office. In 2003, she started full time for Farm Progress companies’ state and regional publications as the e-content editor, and became Farm Futures’ policy editor in 2004. A few years later, she began covering grain and biofuels markets for the weekly newspaper Feedstuffs. As the current policy editor for Farm Progress, she covers the ongoing developments in ag policy, trade, regulations and court rulings. Fatka also serves as the interim executive secretary-treasurer for the North American Agricultural Journalists. She lives on a small acreage in central Ohio with her husband and three children.

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