President Trump is racist, 49 percent of voters say in new Quinnipiac University poll

Forty-nine percent of Americans, including 11 percent of Republicans, believe President Trump is racist, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll. What's more, the poll found, 22 percent of Republicans and 55 percent of voters think he “has emboldened people who hold racist beliefs to express those beliefs publicly.”

Meanwhile, 50 percent of voters think the main motive for Trump's immigration policies is "a sincere interest in controlling our borders," while 44 percent say the main motive is "racist beliefs."

The poll, released on July 3rd, examined Americans’ attitudes on controversial issues including the border crisis, the importance of ‘civility’ in political discourse, and President Trump's trustworthiness.

Quinnipiac reported that 60 percent of respondents, including 21 percent of Republicans and 95 percent of Democrats, think the practice of separating children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border was “a violation of human rights.”

The poll asked respondents to describe, in one word, how they felt about immigrant children being separated from their families at the border.

“Sad,” “terrible,” “disgusted” and “heartbroken” were among the words most frequently used.

Meanwhile, as several recent confrontations between Trump cabinet members and critics have sparked a national debate over the role of ‘civility’ in political dialogue, the poll asked respondents whether they agreed that “the lack of civility in politics today is a serious problem.”

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Respondents widely agreed that the “lack of civility” is a cause for concern, with 87 percent of Republicans and 95 percent of Democrats saying it was a “serious problem.”

Asked who is more to blame for the lack of civility -- President Trump or the Democratic party -- 47 percent of voters blamed Trump, while 37 percent think the Democrats are at fault.

Democrats’ concerns about civility may surprise some on the left, who have insisted that the GOP’s call for civility is hypocritical in light of the party’s denunciation of “politically correct” speech, and suggested that questions of ‘civility’ may be beside the point during the Trump presidency.

Only 38 percent of Americans believe that President Trump is honest, with 18 percent of Republicans and 93 percent of Democrats agreeing that he can't be trusted.