Most Americans don’t expect Trump, Democrats to cooperate: poll

Most Americans do not expect President Trump and Democrats to cooperate once Democrats take the majority in the House in January, according to a new poll.

According to a Gallup poll released Monday, 28 percent of American adults surveyed believe Democrats will cooperate with Trump, while 33 percent believe the president will work with Democrats “a great deal” or “a fair amount.”

Those are notably lower numbers than in a survey from 2006, the last time Democrats took control of the House under a Republican president.

Following the 2006 midterms, 52 percent of respondents said that then-President George W. Bush was likely to cooperate with Democrats a great deal or fair amount and 48 percent said the Democrats would work with Bush.

The 2018 drop persisted across party lines.

While 73 percent of GOP respondents in 2006 thought Bush would work with Democrats, only 61 percent of Republicans polled in 2018 believe Trump will work with the opposite party.

Likewise, while 59 percent of Democrats polled in 2006 thought their party would work with Bush, only 42 percent think it will cooperate with Trump.

The declines are more noticeable when it comes to respondents’ views of their political opposition.

Only 11 percent of Democrats surveyed said they believe Trump will work with their party, while 38 percent said the same of Bush in 2006.

Similarly, only 14 percent of Republicans polled predict that Democrats will work with Trump, while 30 percent said the left would cooperate with Bush in the 2006 survey.

Independents’ views of the party’s cooperation also saw a sharp decline.

In 2006, 52 percent of independents surveyed thought Bush would work with the left in 2006, but only 29 percent think the same of Trump.

Likewise, among independents polled, 48 percent thought Democrats would work with Bush in 2006, while only 27 percent believe they will cooperate with Trump.

Gallup pollsters for Monday’s poll interviewed 1,499 adults over the phone from Nov. 13-18. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.