Eight in 10 respondents believe the Trump administration shouldn’t ignore a federal court ruling the White House doesn’t like, per the new NBC News Decision Desk Poll.
The vast majority of American adults believe the Trump administration must comply with federal court orders, though the president’s strongest supporters are split over the issue, according to a new NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey.
In the poll, 81% of U.S. adults say that if a federal court rules that an administration action is illegal, then the administration has to follow its ruling, while 19% say the administration can ignore the ruling and continue its action.
But among people who consider themselves supporters of the MAGA movement, there’s a sharper divide. According to the poll, supporters of President Donald Trump are split, 50%-50%, over whether he should comply with federal court orders.
Except that isn’t how the question was worded…
I bolded some words for emphasis here, the question is not whether he should but whether they think he has to. Important difference.
Okay, but still, what is the question? The president and his administration do have to follow the law, without any doubt. That’s just how governments work??
So, the only way this question makes sense to me is if it’s meant as:
I mean, yeah, kinda. They wrote it in an attempt at having language that doesn’t influence the respondent, but you’ve got the idea. It’s more about the respondent’s opinion, not necessarily the reality of a president bound by laws.
It’s a topic that has been discussed in the news elsewhere, usually with the quote from Andrew Jackson, “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!”
The people who said no would probably love for Trump to have a similar quote.