Initial polling on police accountability and protests

Summary of initial polling:

  • Overwhelming agreement that officers should be fired
  • Strong agreement with murder charges
  • Majority agreement that policing is biased against blacks
  • Majority support for protesters
  • Concern about violence and looting, support for curfews and use of National Guard, and even military
  • Trump net 17 point disapproval of handling of situation

My takeaways – 1) there is real hope for progress here if the protests remain largely peaceful and protesters can separate themselves in the mind of the public from violence and looting, and 2) Trump may have badly misread the situation.  See also here.