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A plurality of Americans disapprove of his handling of LGBT issues, including the ban on military service by transgender people.
If Donald Trump thinks his anti-LGBT policies are widely popular, he should think again, according to a new poll.
In a poll conducted this week by The Economist and the polling organization YouGov, only 29 percent of respondents said they approved of Trump's handling of LGBT issues, the Washington Blade reports. Seventeen percent said they strongly approve and 12 percent said they somewhat approve.
In contrast, 44 percent said they disapprove of Trump's approach to LGBT issues. This number included 35 percent who strongly disapprove and 9 percent who somewhat disapprove. Twenty-seven percent said they had no opinion.
The poll also included a question specifically about Trump's attempt to bar transgender people from serving in the military, and found that a plurality of respondents disapprove. The president reiterated the anti-trans policy March 23, but it's currently blocked by court rulings. Forty-eight percent said they disapprove of the policy and 34 percent expressed support for it, with the remainder having no opinion.
Asked whether trans people should be allowed to serve openly in the military, 49 percent were supportive and 34 percent opposed. A question about whether open service by trans troops affected military readiness, a plurality, 45 percent, said it didn't make much difference.
"There is relatively little difference between the general opinion about transgender troops and opinion about the president's specific decision to ban them," CBS News polling consultant Kathy Frankovic wrote in a YouGov blog post. "The overall assessment of the president's action is negative - except among Republicans." She noted that those who know someone who is transgender are twice as likely to support open service than those who don't, and "Democrats are twice as likely as Republicans to know someone who is transgender."
The poll included questions about a variety of other issues, including trade and social media. It was conducted Sunday through Tuesday among 1,500 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
