Almost half back Trump on sending troops to border: poll

Almost half the voters in a new poll support President Trump’s decision to send U.S. troops to the border with Mexico.

Forty-nine percent of voters back the move, according to the Politico/Morning Consult poll out early Wednesday, while 42 percent oppose it and 9 percent had no opinion.

{mosads}A partisan split is evident in the results, with just 22 percent of Democrats in favor of sending troops to the border and 84 percent of Republicans backing of the move.

Independents were evenly split on the issue.

Trump last week signed an order to deploy National Guard troops to the U.S. southern border.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen framed the action as a way to toughen an immigration system that “rewards bad behavior,” including illegal drug smuggling and border crossings.

“It’s time to act,” Nielsen told reporters.

Trump’s approval rating also ticked up 1 percentage point in the new poll, to 43 percent. Fifty-two percent of voters, however, disapprove of the job he is doing.

The poll was of 1,994 registered voters was conducted between April 5-7. It has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.