U.S. adults disapprove of President Donald Trump’s response to the protests in Los Angeles against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, despite the president racking up top numbers on immigration, according to a new poll.
Trump on Monday sent an additional 2,000 National Guard troops to the city, adding to the 2,000 already deployed the day before to quell protesters. He also ordered the mobilization of 700 Marines. His decision came on the fourth day of protests against ICE raids, which swept across the city last week as part of Trump’s strict immigration crackdown.
A poll released by YouGov on Tuesday found that 45% of adults disapprove of deploying National Guard troops, while 38% approve and 17% remain unsure of the move.
When asked whether they support or oppose sending Marines to the area, respondents recorded a starker gap. The poll revealed that 47% of adults disapproved, compared to 34% saying they approved the decision. Nineteen percent said they were not sure.
The YouGov poll, conducted on June 10, surveyed 4,309 U.S. adults.
Trump, in posts on his social media platform Truth Social, has defended his decision to deploy the National Guard, saying that the city would have been “completely obliterated” if he did not. On Tuesday, he said that the “once beautiful and great City” would be “burning to the ground right now.”
“Los Angeles right now would be on fire, and we have it on great shape,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “We’re not playing around.”
A separate YouGov poll, which was conducted on June 9 and quizzed 4,231 adults, found mainly mixed feelings on whether protests were mostly peaceful or mostly violent. Thirty-eight percent of respondents believed the protests have remained peaceful, while 36% said they were mainly violent.
Trump’s recent moves have since ignited an escalating feud with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has maintained that the president overstepped his authority in deploying the state’s National Guard without his permission.
On Monday, California officials, including Newsom, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing for the end of the “illegal and unnecessary takeover” of the state’s troops. It appears to be the first time in decades that a president has activated a state’s National Guard without a request from its governor.
The Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonell also said on Sunday that the ordering of Marines specifically poses a “significant logistical and operational challenge.”
During questioning from Congress on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s acting comptroller, Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell, said that deploying the National Guard and Marines is costing $134 million, which will be pulled from the department’s maintenance and operation accounts.
According to the YouGov poll, both Trump and Newsom scored unfavorable ratings from respondents. Trump’s “very unfavorable” rating stood apart from positive categories, standing at 44%. Newsom received a 27% “unfavorable rating,” and the same percentage said they were unsure.
Yet a new CBS News/YouGov poll released on Sunday found that Trump’s deportation plans have earned positive feedback from Americans. The poll revealed that 54% of Americans approve of his program to deport immigrants living illegally in the United States, while 46% disapprove. It was conducted before Los Angeles had its first mass demonstrations on Saturday.
The poll also found that 42% believed that the program was making the U.S. safer, compared to 30% saying it was making people less safe and 27% indicating that there is no change.
Stories by Rachel Cohen
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