Poll: On Trump, we can't even agree on why we disagree. But we assume the worst

WASHINGTON — We can't even agree on why we disagree.

In the latest USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll, we asked supporters of President Donald Trump why they supported him and opponents of Trump why they opposed him. Then we asked each side to tell us why the other side felt the way they did.

What we found: A major disconnect and a mutual tendency to assume the worst.

That included a volley of insults hurled both directions. Republicans described Trump’s opponents as lazy, narrow-minded and mired in the status quo. Democrats described his supporters as racist and stupid.

“We might as well be separate countries,” sighs Valerie Crankshaw, 57, of Hayward, California, who voted for Trump in 2016 but has had some second thoughts about him since then.

The conflicting assumptions about what motivates those with another point of view just might be one reason American politics have become so superheated and entrenched.

“Washington is in gridlock because the people are in gridlock,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “Look no further than the lack of understanding and empathy among the people who elected them to go to DC to do their bidding."

First, let’s consider why the president’s supporters said they back him. Five of the top six reasons they gave were driven by policy or ideology — that he is getting things done, cutting taxes, keeping his campaign promises. Of 16 answers given in response to the open-ended question, 12 were focused on policy.

“I trust his judgment,” said Peter Swenson, 74, a retired maintenance worker from Modesto, California, who voted for Trump. “The promises that he is keeping, the things that he promised in his campaign he’s kept.”

But ask Democrats why Trump’s supporters back him, and they were equally likely to cite his disruptive leadership and his backers' cultural grievances — that they’re bigoted, uneducated and like the fact that he’s not a politician. Of 14 reasons cited by Democrats for why they believe Trump has support, 10 were in large part based on the president's personality and social views.

“I think there are a lot of people that were tired of seeing a black man being president and they didn’t like it from the beginning,” said Tammie Schneider, 44, an instructional aide at a charter school from Tucson, Arizona.

Second, why do the president’s opponents say they don’t back him? Five of the six top reasons they gave were centered on alarm about his character and leadership — that he’s a liar and a bully who disrespects people and lacks morals. Of 15 responses, 11 focused on character or behavior, not on policy.

“The thing I think that hurts our country the most is that he has divided our nation on racial lines … in what I don’t think we’ve seen in 50 years,” said Brian Williams, 49, of Oakland, California.

But ask Republicans why Trump’s opponents don’t support him, and they are equally likely to cite policy or ideological reasons — that the critics disagree with his views, don’t like change, or are still mad that Hillary Clinton didn’t win in November. The number one reason they gave was that opponents just can’t recognize what a good job he’s doing.

“The people who voted for Hillary Clinton did so for selfish reasons to keep money coming to them,” said Richard Zapor, 55, from Los Angeles. “The groups that want the money for unemployment and welfare and such that Trump is trying to close those loopholes, and (those who) refuse to go to work.”

So Trump supporters say they care mostly about policy; those on the other side say those supporters care just as much about disruption and cultural grievances. And Trump opponents say they care mostly about character; those on the other side say they care just as much about ideology.

"I think that just as a society in America we're becoming so polarized," said Cole Welty, 34, of San Diego. "Everyone is sticking to their comfort zone or staying in their bubbles."

The survey of 1,000 registered voters was taken by landline and cell phone from June 13 through 18.

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