Poll: Republicans shoulder more shutdown blame, as signs of voter irritation with both parties pile up

Voters say President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are more to blame for the ongoing government shutdown, according to a new NBC News poll.

Voters say President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are more to blame for the ongoing government shutdown, according to a new NBC News poll. But their verdict on the spending stalemate includes more blame for Democrats than some past shutdowns, part of a growing collection of data outlining negative views of both parties.

The survey, conducted Oct. 24-28, finds a combined 52% of voters blame Trump and congressional Republicans for the stalemate, while 42% blame Democrats in Congress and 4% blame all of the players.

The share of voters who blame Democrats is the highest for the party when compared to other shutdowns or potential shutdowns measured in NBC News polling over the last 30 years.

Meanwhile, voters’ negative views of the Democratic Party, including among Democrats, are relatively unchanged from record-low ratings in the March NBC News poll. The Republican Party is underwater with voters too, though not to the same degree. And in another poll question, voters responded positively to the idea of booting every member of Congress.

At the same time, the poll also finds that both parties’ core supporters are on their side in the shutdown standoff — perhaps explaining why it has carried on for a month with few signs of a resolution.